Unusual late-September heat hits Spain, AEMET warns

According to Eltiempo.es, AEMET put out yellow warnings on 21 September for an unusually warm episode for this time of year, with readings up to 35C forecast in inland Galicia, Extremadura and inland Andalusia, plus isolated spikes in the Ebro valley, Aragon and Catalonia. The same outlet notes the figures are broadly 5C to 10C above the seasonal average across most of the country, and beyond 10C in parts of the north. By 22 September it expected 35C to settle over the southern half of the peninsula, from western Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura to Madrid and inland Andalusia.

The outlets diverge on how hot the peak will get, and we are not going to settle that for you. Eltiempo.es places the high point on Thursday 24 September, with up to 37C in Badajoz, Seville and Cordoba, 36C in Toledo, 35C in Granada and around 35C to 36C in Ourense. Eldiario.es, citing AEMET, goes further, pointing to 38C to 39C in Badajoz around 23 to 24 September and 37C in Cordoba, Seville and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, while widening the map to southwest Galicia, the south, the Balearics, the Canaries and eastern Catalonia.

One figure that puts the numbers in perspective comes from an AEMET deputy spokesperson, quoted via aggregated web reporting: the seasonal norm for this period sits at 26.5C to 27C, so the expected values are well above what late September usually brings. Both the timing and this quote trace back to sources we could not read in full directly, so treat the exact peak as unconfirmed pending AEMET's own bulletin.

The story lands hard in the islands, where Ultima Hora reports that Mallorca is bracing for a 'long' veranillo de San Miguel, with highs worthy of the second half of August: 33C on Friday and Saturday, especially inland, and a rise that keeps building toward the weekend peak. That name matters. The 'veranillo de San Miguel', also called the 'veranillo de los Arcangeles' or 'del membrillo', is a traditional warm-up around 29 September, Saint Michael's day, that typically lasts three to seven days and is not guaranteed every year. That folkloric hook, arriving the very week autumn opens, is why the episode is climbing Spain's search trends today.

Sources : AEMET, Eltiempo.es, eldiario.es, Última Hora, Google Trends.