The weather slide that is characterizing Spain this winter continues. After the recent storms and their aftermath of cold and precipitation, a radical change is expected this week. A powerful anticyclone and a ridge will be located over Spain, promoting spring temperatures in mid-January.

According to reports from Marta Almarcha on eltiempo.es, this Thursday we may witness a completely inappropriate situation for this time of year, with maximum temperatures that could reach 20ºC or even higher in many areas of the country.

In fact, according to AEMET, it is expected that in specific areas such as Murcia, temperatures could reach as high as 28ºC, which is 10 to 14 degrees Celsius above normal for this time of year. The state agency also predicts 25ºC in Granada and Alicante.

The combination of several factors, such as the establishment of a powerful ridge in the middle and upper layers, along with a strong anticyclone and local surface winds, will cause «maximum temperatures to soar in some regions of the country.» It is likely that temperatures will reach or exceed 25ºC and it is not ruled out that maximum temperature records for the month of January will be broken.

Temperatures will rise until Thursday or Friday, depending on the areas, although Thursday is expected to be the warmest day of the week. On that day, «in many areas of the north, the southern half and the eastern interior of the Peninsula, maximum temperatures could be between 8 and 10 degrees above average,» Almarcha points out, although in some parts of the interior of Andalusia, such as Murcia, Teruel, or Castellón, as well as the Pyrenees, temperatures could rise up to 12 degrees above normal in January.

This Thursday, therefore, 20ºC is expected in the Cantabrian Sea, Extremadura, and points in the south of Castilla-La Mancha, as well as much of the Mediterranean. But there’s more: these 20ºC can be exceeded in all Andalusian capitals, and 24ºC are expected in Seville. In Murcia, temperatures could reach 28ºC, according to AEMET.

From Friday, this situation could ease a little, but it is not expected to change too much.

In addition to the maximum temperatures, the minimum temperatures will also rise. Therefore, no frosts are expected, except in high areas of the Pyrenees.

Long-term forecasts indicate that this anomalous heat could persist even until the end of January or the beginning of February.

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Contact from the Environment section: crisisclimatica@prensaiberica.es