Early Season Heat Builds Across Spain as Temperatures Surge Toward 38C in Southern Regions

Summer heat arrives early across Spain

The air is turning hotter across Spain this week. Fast.

By the middle of May, parts of the country are already preparing for temperatures that normally arrive much deeper into summer. Forecasts show highs pushing toward 38C in inland and southern regions as a powerful spell of heat spreads across the peninsula.

For many people, it feels abrupt. Just weeks ago, Spain was coming out of one of its wettest winters in decades. Rivers were full, skies stayed gray for days, and rain swept repeatedly across large parts of the country.

Now the pattern has flipped.

The sun is back, skies are clearing, and temperatures are climbing day by day under a strengthening ridge of high pressure.

In the south, the heat is already beginning to settle into the streets.

“It hit all at once," one resident in Seville, Spain said. “Yesterday morning still felt like spring. Today it feels like August."

Andalusia and Extremadura face the hottest conditions

According to Spain’s national weather agency AEMET, western Andalusia is expected to see the highest temperatures during the coming days.

Seville, Spain could rise to 35C, while nearby Córdoba, Spain is forecast near 34C. In Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, temperatures may climb to 32C.

The heat will spread beyond Andalusia as well. In Extremadura, Mérida, Spain is forecast to reach 35C, with Cáceres, Spain expected around 32C.

Further inland, parts of Castilla-La Mancha may also push into the low 30s.

The afternoons are expected to feel harsh under direct sun. Pavement temperatures will rise quickly. Cafés and plazas that were comfortable only days ago are now filling with people searching for shade.

Short sleeves. Sunglasses. Water bottles everywhere.

The shift has been impossible to ignore.

Coastal and northern Spain stay cooler

Not all of Spain will bake under the same level of heat.

Along the northern coast, temperatures are expected to stay closer to what is normal for May. San Sebastián, Spain is forecast around 21C, while Oviedo, Spain may reach 23C. In A Coruña, Spain, temperatures should remain near 20C before edging slightly higher later in the week.

Mediterranean coastal areas will also avoid the most intense conditions, though temperatures there are still expected to climb steadily.

Valencia, Spain is forecast near 27C on Wednesday, with some forecasts suggesting temperatures could approach 30C by Thursday.

The contrast across the country is striking.

In the north, people may still need a light jacket during the evening. In the south, the heat will linger well after sunset.

Warm nights becoming part of the story

The nights are changing too.

Forecasters say minimum temperatures will rise noticeably across southern Spain and parts of the Mediterranean coast. The cooling that usually arrives after sunset will become weaker as the warmer air mass settles over the country.

Windows stay open longer. Fans begin running overnight.

“The apartment never really cooled down last night," one resident along the Mediterranean coast said. “You could still feel the warmth coming through the walls."

That lingering nighttime heat often becomes one of the clearest signs that summer conditions are starting to build.

Mostly dry skies, though storms still possible in the northeast

The weather pattern behind the heat is expected to keep much of Spain dry and stable over the next several days.

AEMET says an advancing anticyclonic ridge will promote lightly cloudy skies across much of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, allowing temperatures to continue rising.

Rainfall will mostly stay confined to the far northern parts of the country.

Even so, forecasters are still watching for isolated showers and thunderstorms that could develop across northeastern Spain during the coming days. Localized storm activity remains possible despite the broader stretch of stable weather.

Elsewhere, the dominant story remains the heat.

The long afternoons. The bright skies. The sudden feeling that spring has been cut short.