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If the weekend's rain and grey skies left you wondering what happened to spring, the good news is that things are about to improve quite dramatically across most of Spain. After an unsettled few days, high pressure is moving in and temperatures are set to climb sharply as the week goes on.

 

Monday April 13 gets underway with a weather front still pushing towards the Mediterranean and a fair amount of cold air sitting up in the atmosphere, so the north and east of the country can expect some lingering cloud and rain to start the week.

 

As the days go by though, conditions should settle down across most of the country. The far north, from Galicia along the Cantabrian coast and up to the Pyrenees, is likely to stay a little unsettled throughout, and there's another front expected in from the Atlantic midweek, with possibly another one arriving between Saturday April 18 and Sunday April 19 if current forecasts hold.

 

One welcome side effect of the weekend's rain is that it's helping to clear the skies of the stubborn North African dust haze that's been hanging over much of Spain for the past week. That brownish tinge to the sky, along with the muddy rain that fell in some areas, should gradually disappear as the week progresses and the dust-laden air pushes out.

 

The temperature story this week is really quite remarkable. Monday's maximum in Madrid is sitting at around 15°C, but by Friday April 17 that figure could be nudging 30°C, and in southern parts of the country that mark looks set to be comfortably exceeded over the weekend.

 

Essentially, temperatures in some areas will nearly double over the course of just a few days, as the cold air retreats from the Mediterranean and warmer air masses roll back in. Northern Spain will see a more modest recovery, with the passing weather fronts keeping things a little closer to what you'd normally expect for this time of year.

 

For more weather news go to our Weather & Climate page or follow the Spain Weather Watch Facebook group for regular updates

 

Image: Aemet