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September may be edging towards autumn, but temperatures across Spain have been behaving more like the height of summer.  Andalucía is home to the highest temperature recorded anywhere in Spain so far this year, with El Granado in Huelva reaching 45.7°C on September 3.

 

The reading was recorded at the municipality’s weather station and also sets a September record at that particular observation point. It highlights just how intense the heat has been across the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula during the first days of the month.

 

 

And it isn’t just  Andalucía feeling the difference. Data shows that, up until September 13, average temperatures were more than four degrees above normal in many parts of Spain.

 

There have been a few cooler days and some temporary dips, but high temperatures have remained the dominant pattern during the first half of the month. The intensity of the spell has already pushed several September records into the history books.

 

At Zaragoza Airport, temperatures climbed to 39.3°C, beating the previous record in a series stretching back more than 80 years. Barcelona-Fabra also recorded a remarkable 35.5°C. That station has 106 years of records and the reading was 2.5°C higher than its previous September record.

 

Barcelona also experienced its first September “sweltering night”, when the temperature stays at or above 25°C throughout the night. Other records have been broken across eastern, central, southern and northern parts of Spain, both during the day and overnight.

 

The figures are particularly striking at higher elevations too. At Puerto de Navacerrada, in the Sierra de Guadarrama, the average temperature up to September 13 was 6.5°C above the usual level for the reference period.

 

There is now the possibility that the current spell could eventually be classified as Spain’s fifth September heatwave since records began, although that has yet to be confirmed.

 

September isn’t over yet, so the final picture could still change. Forecasts suggest the temperature anomaly may ease during the second half of the month, but temperatures are still expected to remain several degrees above normal.

 

At some weather stations, September could even finish as the warmest on record. For now, the figures are making one thing clear: this is no ordinary start to autumn, with temperatures far above what would normally be expected for this time of year.

 

 

Image: wikicommons