Laurence Dollimore
SPAIN is facing another bout of freak summer storms next week with the possibility of a fresh so-called DANA.
According to forecasters at Meteored, intense storms, rain and even hail are on the cards following a weekend of crippling heat.
The weather service said an Atlantic trough (a large area of low atmospheric pressure) will begin approaching the peninsula on Sunday, bringing a drop in temperatures and a rise in instability.
READ MORE: Red weather alert in Spain this weekend
This could turn into a so-called DANA (area of high isolated pressure) by Tuesday and Wednesday.
The Atlantic trough will begin to arrive in the Pyrenees, inland Lugo in the north and parts of the Cantabrian sea this afternoon, which will bring ‘intense hail’, said Meteored.
On Sunday night, storms will return to the Pyrenees of Girona and the far north of Barcelona, ??again with locally strong showers and ‘a lot of electrical activity’.
There will also be chances of hail, but the probability is low in these areas.
Meteroed added: “On Monday the trough will begin to penetrate from the west and the conditions for the formation of showers and storms will be more favourable in the centre and north (of Spain).
“From midday onwards the clouds will grow and showers will end up occurring in the north, south and east of Castilla y Leon, La Rioja, Maestrazgo, the Cantabrian Mountains and the Pyrenees, being strong at times and with probable hail.”
It added: “Between Monday night and early Tuesday morning… the models do not rule out the formation of more intense storms (or even a system) that would advance between the northeast of Castilla y Leon, La Rioja, Navarra and the Basque Country, but it is something that we will have to specify in our next updates.”
It warned that Tuesday will see the storms grow in intensity.
Very strong showers are predicted on that day in Aragon, Catalunya, inland Valencia, Castilla y Leon, La Rioja, Navarra and the Cantabrian mountain range.
In the north-east of the country there will be hail and strong gusts of wind on Wednesday, when a possible DANA could form.
It comes as Spain has issued a series of red alerts for extreme heat this weekend – the highest warning possible.
It means there is a serious risk to life in the affected areas due to exceedingly high temperatures – which could surpass 40C.
It comes as Friday saw the start of the country’s fourth official heatwave of the summer.
The red alerts are in place on Sunday in Liebana, Villaverde and inland areas of Gipuzkoa.
Rather uncharacteristically, all three areas are on Spain’s northernmost coastline, between the Basque Country and Cantabria.
Meanwhile, there are no heat warnings in place in the most popular holiday resorts, neither on the coasts of Valencia, Alicante nor Malaga.
There is a yellow alert in place for high temperatures on the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, however, with highs of 37C forecast for Sunday.
