SPAIN is set for a scorching start to September as a powerful heat dome sends temperatures soaring to 43C, with Andalucia facing the worst of the heat.
The unseasonably hot spell will push the mercury past 40C in cities including Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Jaen, Toledo, Badajoz, Caceres and Zaragoza, according to weather service Meteored.
Temperatures are set to start climbing from Wednesday onwards, reaching their peak on Thursday and Friday.
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The Guadalquivir Valley in Andalucia could be particularly brutal, with European weather models predicting temperatures of up to 43C.
Parts of central Spain, the eastern interior and the Pyrenees could also see temperatures climb more than 4C above the seasonal average for early September.
Forecasters are also predicting ‘torrid’ tropical nights across large areas, with temperatures potentially refusing to fall below 25C in parts of Andalucia, the Mediterranean coast, the Balearic Islands and the Canaries.
Gran Canaria could also see temperatures above 35C, alongside clouds of Saharan dust.
The heat dome is being fuelled by a powerful area of high pressure, which will trap and warm the air over Spain.
At the same time, a pocket of colder air to the west of the peninsula will help draw hot air northwards from Africa.
That combination could push the temperature at 1,500 metres to around 28C over central Spain by Friday – an exceptionally high figure for September.
Saharan dust is also expected to cloud skies across southern and south-eastern Spain and the Balearics.
The haze could slightly limit daytime temperatures in some areas, but is unlikely to prevent the wider heat surge.
Isolated showers and thunderstorms are possible in the north, north-east and mountainous areas, while the Canaries could see some heavy downpours.
By the weekend, temperatures are expected to begin falling in western Spain as a trough of low pressure moves in.
Forecasters warn that the exact weekend outlook remains uncertain, however, with some models suggesting more widespread and intense storms could develop across the north and interior.
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