The current heat wave, the third of the summerhas especially hit the Spanish southeast, although it is also hitting the rest of the south, the east and the center of the peninsula, as well as the Balearic Islands. On the other hand, in the north, where they did suffer the effects of the two previous heat waves, they have been spared this one. In Asturias, for example, mercury It has been rising to about 24-27ºCquite fresh, compared to the more than 40ºC that are suffering in many places in the south and east of the peninsula.
That doesn’t mean this summer isn’t being unusually hot in the north, like the rest of the country. However, at least as far as this heat wave is concerned, it is being much more bearable for them. Right now, all of us who live in the red areas of the map are thinking the same thing about Asturians. How lucky! But in reality it is not luck, but meteorology.
Why is the north spared from the heat wave?
According to the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET)the current heat wave is due to “a blocking pattern, made up of a stationary DANA in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsulatogether with the presence of a high at medium levels over North Africa.” All this “is giving rise to the intrusion of a mass of warm, dry air with suspended dust over the southeast of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands”, which little by little has been spreading over a good part of the rest of the Spanish territory. But not so much in the north.
What was mentioned by the AEMET, together with “the sunshine typical of this time of year and the generalized subsidence” is what has caused this increase in temperatures. So far so good. But what happens in the north?
To begin with, we have seen that it all starts with a DANA in the northwest. The area that is getting rid of the heat. This meteorological phenomenon is due to a low pressure zonewhich rotates counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere. This, in the DANA area, causes atmospheric instability marked by showers, storms and cooler temperatures.
On the other hand, we have the anticyclone coming from Africa. It is an area of high pressure, whose effect is completely opposite: very warm and dry air. And what happens when the two get together? Broadly speaking, the DANA gyre itself pushes the hot African air towards the southeast, so that the northwest is spared from its arrival. In short, the DANA is like a kind of protective wall, which pushes heat in all opposite directions.
Why did the other two heat waves affect the northwest?
The first two heat waves of summer They were very similar to this one. We had a blockage caused by a DANA, and hot air coming from Africa. However, there was one big difference: DANA took place to the west, not the northwest. When this occurs, it is rather in the Atlantic Ocean, not directly over the Galicia area. The blockage occurs at sea and the hot air can spread throughout the peninsula. Therefore, in that case there were unusually high temperatures in these parts of Spain that are now being resolved.
The areas that are not free
The autonomous communities on alert for this third summer heat wave are Andalusia, Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Castilla – La Mancha, Catalonia, the Community of Madrid, the Region of Murcia, Navarra, La Rioja and the Valencian Community, as well as the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.
Galicia, Cantabria, Asturias and other points in the north, on the other hand, have typical summer temperatures, but they are not suffering from the suffocating heat wave that is raising the mercury to extremely dangerous levels. Even in the west they have been spared this time. Even so, it would be better if they did not store the fans that many were bought for the first time just a month ago. This summer is coming strong.
Images | AEMET
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