Storm Patricia in France set to bring change of weather in Malaga with mercury dropping by as much as 13C
Spain's Aemet weather agency has forecast an "abrupt" drop in temperatures at the end of this week caused by the weather phenomenon christened by the authorities in the neighbouring country
It already has a name: Patricia. And it will bring some relief for Malaga province after three consecutive days of sweltering heat marked by a suffocating hot terral wind culminating in a red alert for high temperatures until 9pm this Wednesday, 2 August.
The storm, christened by the French weather service, will create very strong winds and bad sea conditions in neighbouring France, but the effects will also be felt in Spain, with strong winds, high waves and a "sharp" drop in temperatures, which will leave Thursday and Friday cooler than normal for the season, according to Spain's met office Aemet.
In Malaga province, the forecast of the predicts that the weather phenomenon will result in a considerable drop in the mercury of up to 13C in Malaga city. Therefor, from Friday onwards, the thermometers will go from recording highs of 42 degrees - as today - to milder values of 29C. The minimum temperatures will also drop, going from the 29-30 degrees of the last few days of tropical nights to the 22-23 degrees forecast for the weekend.
"Tomorrow, Thursday, will be the last day of terral wind. In Malaga city I expect a maximum of between 37 and 38C, in the Axarquia between 35 and 36 and in the Guadalhorce valley between 37 and 39. The sea water temperature will be around 19 degrees", said weather expert José Luis Escudero in his SUR blog 'Tormentas y Rayos' (storms and lightning). At 9pm today (Wednesday) Aemet will deactivate the red warning for extreme heat but will reactivate a yellow warning tomorrow between 1pm and 9pm along the entire coastal strip and the Guadalhorce Valley for maximum temperatures of up to 39C.
An "unusually deep" storm
According to Aemet, storm Patricia is an "unusually deep" squall for the month of August and it will create a corridor of cold winds from the northwest that will cause "a sharp drop in temperatures". The spokesperson for the state agency, Rubén del Campo, warned of a "sharp drop in temperatures in much of the Spanish mainland and the Balearic Islands", as the mercury will be between 5 and 10C below the usual values for this time of year. The met office also expects the early hours of Saturday morning to be cool in many areas.
Del Campo said that this "significant" drop in thermometers will be caused by the winds generated by the corridor caused by the difference in atmospheric pressure between the Azores anticyclone and storm Patricia , which will circulate around northern Europe.
On Thursday and Friday, skies will be cloudy and rainy in the north of Galicia and the Cantabrian regions. Rainfall will be abundant and thunderstorms will form around the Pyrenees, the Iberian System, also in the Balearic Islands, as well as in other isolated areas in the east of the mainland.
The cooler spell will end, according to Aemet, at the weekend, as on Saturday the thermometers will begin to rise across the board, especially in the southern half of the country, where the spokesperson predicts that the intense heat "will probably be the protagonist again" on Sunday and the first days of next week.
During Saturday there will be a "clear recovery" of 6 to 8C compared to Friday and temperatures will return to their normal levels for this time of year "or perhaps even slightly lower in parts of the northern half of the country", he pointed out. Looking ahead to next week, Del Campo predicted that a new warm spell is possible, with maximum temperatures above 38C in a large part of the centre of the country, the southern half and in some areas of the northern half. He also warned of very warm nights again.
