Some of you may have heard of this - But for those who haven't there is some impressive heat building rapidly over Southern Spain and North Africa.

The all time record for April in Spain is 37.4C. There are hints that 40C could be hit which is just incredible for April.
This maybe hit on Friday or Saturday.
Keep tabs on this.
 

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Some of you may have heard of this - But for those who haven't there is some impressive heat building rapidly over Southern Spain and North Africa.

The all time record for April in Spain is 37.4C. There are hints that 40C could be hit which is just incredible for April.
This maybe hit on Friday or Saturday.
Keep tabs on this.
 

Seville's forecast is a case in point - 36C with subzero dewpoints, as forecast for this afternoon, is a typical desert phenomenon.

https://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/seville  

(Right now it's showing 6% humidity for next week. Dangerous stuff if that comes off...)

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ECM average temps show 38C tomorrow so I'd imagine the max values are a degree or two higher.

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It was mentioned on the BBC forecast yesterday evening. Far too hot for me! I'm glad it wasn't that hot when we went to Calpe in March.

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Looks like high of 37.3c today . So just shy of the April record. 

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Looks like high of 37.3c today . So just shy of the April record. 

Any idea what year that record was reached? Could give a clue as to what sort of pattern is setting up for the coming summer over Europe.

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Any idea what year that record was reached? Could give a clue as to what sort of pattern is setting up for the coming summer over Europe.

2011. Forgettable uk Summer. But the Spring was warm so not sure it's a decent guide.

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Seville's forecast is a case in point - 36C with subzero dewpoints, as forecast for this afternoon, is a typical desert phenomenon.

https://www.xcweather.co.uk/forecast/seville  

(Right now it's showing 6% humidity for next week. Dangerous stuff if that comes off...)

IMAGE. Members enable at bottom of page

What exactly is dangerous about such low humidity?

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What exactly is dangerous about such low humidity?

fire risk, have a Google search 

fire risk, have a Google search 

Spot on.

Last year, when it got to 39C here, the dewpoint was 10C, which works out as around 19% humidity. That was enough for several grass fires to break out, and it badly affected some trees, too: the leaves shrivelled and curled up on the neighbour's cherry tree, for example, and it didn't recover last year - thankfully this year it's sprouting new leaves. Similarly the hazel lost a lot of its leaves due to the stress.

What we're seeing forecast for Seville is even more severe than that, and it literally turns the environment into a tinderbox.

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As expected Spain has broken its April record today. 38.7c at Cordoba AP

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Looks like Portugal broke its April record aswell 36.5c at Castro Verde.

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Thundery rain or showers are forecast for parts of the UK this Sunday. I wonder if this is the legacy of Iberian heatwave; the heat not quite reaching the UK but heading north enough to generate mid level storms.

Morocco also broke its April record yesterday with an extraordinary 41.3c in Marrakesh. 

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Cordoba ended up 38.8c which is a European record for April.

 

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I've stickied this for a good reason. Already a new European record has been set for April with I believe over 38C  recorded in Cordoba (Spain) . This certainly won't be the last record we'll see this summer.
I'd like this thread/topic to be the one to use for European heat records for this summer. At the end of September I'll move it to the classics section so it can be used for anyone undertaking research.
This is an excellent forum for this and as a moderator I like to assist in the likes of this.

🙂

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Andorra broke its April record today 30c on the dot.
 

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Spot on.

Last year, when it got to 39C here, the dewpoint was 10C, which works out as around 19% humidity. That was enough for several grass fires to break out, and it badly affected some trees, too: the leaves shrivelled and curled up on the neighbour's cherry tree, for example, and it didn't recover last year - thankfully this year it's sprouting new leaves. Similarly the hazel lost a lot of its leaves due to the stress.

What we're seeing forecast for Seville is even more severe than that, and it literally turns the environment into a tinderbox.

A dry summer here and this latest one was an example between November 22nd and March 30th we recorded less than 1mm of rain. In March when a strong east wind develops from the interior and we can hit 40c with dew points around -10c. The fire risk is catastrophic. It’s advised on days like that not to leave the city and we have a complete fire ban, no welding, no bbqs etc even in the city. 

A dry summer here and this latest one was an example between November 22nd and March 30th we recorded less than 1mm of rain. In March when a strong east wind develops from the interior and we can hit 40c with dew points around -10c. The fire risk is catastrophic. It’s advised on days like that not to leave the city and we have a complete fire ban, no welding, no bbqs etc even in the city. 

Heaven knows what humidity that must equate to - Must be less than 5%. When I was living in Perth I remember some exceptionally hot and dry days. They used to refer to it as an extreme fire danger or fire weather warning. Good description really.
 

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All well and good for Western Europe but I'm off to Bulgaria next week. Last year the same week was 24-26C and sunny every day apparently. Current forecast is for 14-16C and thundery showers every day. just what you want on an outdoor holiday - not!

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