By Chris King • Updated: 20 Jun 2023 • 0:30
Image of a thermometer displaying a high temperature. Credit: VladisChern/Shutterstock.com
Holidaymakers, and especially sun lovers, heading for Portugal this week, will be arriving just in time to experience the country’s first heatwave of 2023.
According to Meteored Tempo.pt, from Thursday, June 22, mostly sunny weather is forecast for the whole of Portugal. There could be some cloudy periods in the north but in the rest of the country, the skies will be clear.
The gradual establishment of an anticyclone in the Atlantic off the coast of the mainland is expected to cause a rise in temperatures from north to south with the resulting high pressure bringing typical stability associated with summer weather.
Towards the end of the week, new weather elements will come into play, with the weather registering a radical change said the experts.
According to the ECMWF, high pressures will solidify between the north of the Iberian Peninsula and southeastern France and, at the same time, the African ridge will become very robust around Portugal and Spain.
As a result, in a few days’ time, Portugal could be facing the first episode of very high temperatures or heatwave of the summer of 2023, as will its geographical neighbour, Spain.
#Chuva ou aguaceiros, por vezes fortes e sob a forma de #granizo, e #trovoada ⛈️☄️. Assim começou a semana, sobretudo no Norte de #Portugal. Até quarta a instabilidade diminuirá. Mas… atenção ⚠️! A partir de quinta prevê-se o primeiro episódio de #calor 🥵 intenso do verão! pic.twitter.com/C6C6YatQ1F — Meteored | Tempo.pt (@MeteoredPT) June 19, 2023
#Chuva ou aguaceiros, por vezes fortes e sob a forma de #granizo, e #trovoada ⛈️☄️. Assim começou a semana, sobretudo no Norte de #Portugal. Até quarta a instabilidade diminuirá.
Mas… atenção ⚠️! A partir de quinta prevê-se o primeiro episódio de #calor 🥵 intenso do verão! pic.twitter.com/C6C6YatQ1F
— Meteored | Tempo.pt (@MeteoredPT) June 19, 2023
Meteored acknowledged that it is still too early to mention maximum temperature values, but it is increasingly likely that 40ºC will occasionally be reached or exceeded in parts of the central and southern regions.
These include Santarém , Castelo Branco, Portalegre , Évora and Beja. However, the experts warned that there is a possibility of dust from the Sahara.
‘It is premature to refer to specific temperature values, and, in fact, the model has already slightly reduced the heat that was predicted in the last update. Daily monitoring of forecasts will have to be done, but in some regions, temperatures are likely to be very high’, stated Meteored.
A Tropical minimum of 20ºC or more could be recorded in several regions south of the Tagus and even north of the river, in cities such as Castelo Branco, Coimbra, and even Porto.
It is quite possible that the values undergo adjustments, added the experts, but still, intense heat is expected. Everything indicates that the first half of next week will continue this trend of very high temperatures, particularly in the interior regions, and south of the Tagus.
At this time of the year, it is normal to be hot, but this time values above the climatological average are expected. So far, June has shown a pretty good pattern, within average, with subdued temperatures and thunderstorms typical of the time, but Meteroed is pretty convinced that summer is on its way.
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Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com
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