Madrid.The first rain will fall in ernest this Thursday with a cold front sweeping in from the north of he mainland, bringing with it a general drop in temperature of as much as 8 degrees Centigrade, the National Weather Agency (AEMET) warned yesterday.
AEMET spokesman Angel Rivera said that the change will be a brusque one because as late as tomorrow, temperatures will remain high and there will be no generalised rainfall anywhere in Spain.
Specifically, said Rivera, it is the northern half of the mainland and above all in the northeast and in the Balearic Islands where this cold front will be pushed forward by northerly winds, increasing the chill factor. The cold is really going to be noticed, he said.
Rivera said that it was probable that periodic showers will stretch into the weekend, as the rain and cold drive their way northeast into the Balearics. The rain is going stay around a while but it is the cold front behind it which is the first real sign of autumn, said Rivera.
AEMET have also forecast that as from next week, the winds which had been blowing strongly will start to weaken, almost certainly giving rise to an anticyclone in which the rains will continue but temperatures will start to rise again, although not to the level at which they have been recently.
Separately, Rivera said that there were record temperatures registered last weekend - the first in October - in both minimum and maximum temperatures across wide areas of the country. Last Saturday at La Coruña airport, temperatures reached 33.7 degrees Centigrade the highest for the first weekend in October since 1980 (29.6ºC).