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Spain is in for a record-breaking week of heat, with temperatures set to soar well above what you'd normally expect for April. According to forecasters at Meteored and Spain's State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), a mass of warm air pushing up from North Africa, carried by southerly winds, is going to settle over the country and send the mercury climbing this week. In some cities, temperatures could actually beat all-time April records, with highs of up to 34°C on the cards.

 

Aemet and Meteored explain that high pressure dominating over Spain is the driving force behind all of this, and thermal models suggest temperatures could run anywhere between 8°C and 12°C above the average for this time of year across large parts of inland Spain.

 

That's not just warm for April, that's borderline summer.

 

Things will get going on Monday, with temperatures already climbing to between 28°C and 30°C across the southwest, particularly in the Guadalquivir Valley and Extremadura.

 

After a bit of a cloudy start in the Mediterranean, the day promises to be mostly clear and sunny, although the northeast can expect overcast skies and even thunderstorms in places.

 

Tuesday is shaping up to be the hottest day of the week. Across large parts of central and southern Spain, highs of over 30°C are expected, with the Guadalquivir Valley and parts of Castilla-La Mancha potentially pushing up to 32-34°C. In the Ebro Valley, cities like Zaragoza and Lleida could exceed 32°C, which would be enough to break their all-time April records.

 

Inland cities including Valladolid, Toledo, Ciudad Real and Madrid could also be nudging their historical April highs, with temperatures potentially reaching the low-to-mid 30s. And in Seville and Córdoba, where April records already sit as high as 36°C, Tuesday could come very close to matching those figures.

 

The heat isn't going anywhere on Wednesday. Temperatures across the interior of the country will remain very high, although coastal areas, both along the Cantabrian coast in the north and the Mediterranean coast in the east, will see things stay a little more manageable.

 

The far north will also be somewhat cooler than the rest of the country.

 

Thursday brings a bit more uncertainty, according to forecasters. The eastern third of the country and the Balearic Islands can expect largely stable conditions with clear skies or high cloud, but elsewhere there's a chance of showers and storms, particularly in Castilla y León and Extremadura.

 

Temperatures are expected to dip slightly in the east and the Balearics, while the rest of the country could actually see highs nudge up a little further. Minimum temperatures are not expected to change much. In Málaga and Alicante, highs of around 24°C are forecast, while parts of Murcia could see the thermometer reach 28°C.