Warm sea augurs hot summer

THE END-of-spring heatwave has caused the temperature of the Mediterranean Sea to soar, auguring a very hot summer for the Costa Blanca.

State weather agency (AEMET) meteorologist in Valencia, José Ángel Nuñez told internet weather site Tiempo.com that the sea is between 3ºC to 4ºC warmer than normal at this time of year.

To the west of the Balearics the temperature was recorded at 27ºC at the beginning of this week, a point not usually reached until high summer.

And heat in south-east Spain is showing no sign of relenting, with a rise in the mercury forecast for next week.

There will be no relevant relief from the heat during this week or next on the Costa Blanca. Benidorm temperatures are currently around 30ºC.

Weather agencies forecast that temperatures will more or less stay the same, but could suffer a 4º increase next Thursday, June 29, when forecasters predict a maximum temperature of 34ºC for Benidorm.

Temperatures at inland towns will remain high until Friday, June 30, when they will have an average 4ºC drop.

Sr Nuñez noted that June has been an extremely hot month on the Iberian peninsula.

“This mass of hot air has led to the heating up of the sea,” he explained.

The meteorologist said that this will influence summer temperatures, especially on the coast.

“The most usual wind on the coastline in the summer is the easterly off the sea, which normally has a moderating effect on the temperature after midday,” he explained.

“However, a warmer sea means that this air will be hotter.”

As a result, AEMET has modified is forecast for the summer for south-east Spain to ‘very hot’.

At the same time, Sr Nuñez warned that long-distance forecasts are of ‘limited reliability’.

He also stated that the high sea temperature does not necessarily mean that intense storms will hit at the end of the summer.

“Rain in the Mediterranean area is an atmospheric phenomenon and not a sea-based one,” he said.

“If the conditions are not right then it does not matter how warm the sea is.”

He explained that the arrival of cold air is the ‘detonator’ for intense rainfall.