Aemet warns of imminent change to weather, bringing storms and falling temperatures to these parts of Spain

Much of Spain is experiencing a particularly hot week, with scorching temperatures reaching 42C in some parts of the country. However, the weather takes a turn this weekend, with temperatures dropping and showers and thunderstorms forecast in some areas.

State meteorological agency Aemet has announced that a "front from the north-west" will bring rainfall in some areas of the country from Friday onwards.

However, the heat will not disappear altogether and several regions will be under yellow and amber heat alerts over the next few days, with temperatures of 40C.

A weather trough will cross the north-west of the Spanish mainland over the weekend, leaving precipitation and thunderstorms. Most of the north will witness cloudy skies this Friday.

Locally heavy storms will be experienced in the east of the Basque Country and the north of Navarre. The latter region has an active yellow warning due to the storm. The eastern third might receive some "scattered showers and thunderstorms".

Precipitation in the far north is expected to continue on Saturday. Rain in Galicia and thunderstorms in the western Pyrenees and the north-east of Catalonia are forecast.

The north-west and the Pyrenees will be affected by a new weather front on Sunday, with locally intense rainfall in western Galicia and the Cantabrian Sea areas. There may also be unstable weather in areas of the north-eastern interior and in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. Apart from scattered cloudy skies in some areas, the rest of the country will enjoy stable weather.

Due to the storms, the north of Spain will experience a "sharp" decrease in temperatures over the weekend, with maximum values on Friday of 22C in Oviedo, 23C in A Coruña, 24C in Santander and 25C in Pontevedra and San Sebastián.

In fact, apart from the coast, temperatures in the whole country will drop. However, there will be little change on the Costa del Sol and the northern part of the Balearic Islands. Temperatures in parts of Andalucía, the Canary Islands, Ibiza and Mallorca will exceed 34-36C. South-eastern valleys will even register 40C.

There is an amber heat warning active this Friday in Andalucía, Castilla-la Mancha, Murcia and Valencia, while a yellow one has been announced for Madrid, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Aragon.

Over the weekend, there will be a brief respite from the heat, with a slight drop in temperatures, but these will rise again with the start of the new week.