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Heat does not leave Madrid: 36 degrees and difficult nights for sleeping
Summer is reluctant to leave Madrid. The capital faces the weekend of 5 and 6 September with temperatures still typical of July or August, highs around 36 degrees and very little relief during the early hours of the night.
Saturday will be the most delicate day. Aemet forecasts a high of 36 degrees and a low that could remain around 26 in Madrid, with predominantly mid- and high-level cloud for much of the day. Agencia Estatal de Meteorología also maintains a yellow warning for high temperatures in the Metropolitana y Henares area between 13:00 and 21:00.
The heat will be especially evident from early afternoon until the beginning of the night. Although highs will fall from the almost 38 degrees reached this Friday, the drop will be small and temperatures will remain well above what is usual for early September.
Clouds will not necessarily mean rain in the city of Madrid either. Aemet puts the probability at a very low level for much of Saturday and only slightly raises the possibility of some precipitation towards the end of the day. In the Sierra, there is more scope for light rain or an occasional shower during the second half of the day.
Sunday will repeat virtually the same high, around 36 degrees, but will begin with some more relief: the forecast low for the capital falls to around 24 degrees. Skies will have cloudy intervals during the first half of the day and will tend to become lightly cloudy afterwards.
For now, there is no weather warning equivalent to Saturday’s for the city of Madrid on Sunday. That does not mean the heat will disappear: the central hours will again be very hot and the asphalted areas in the centre will continue to accumulate heat during the afternoon.
Those planning to travel to the Sierra will encounter different conditions. There, highs will be considerably lower because of the altitude, but Aemet considers the possibility of afternoon showers on both Saturday and Sunday, at times accompanied by thunderstorms, as well as stronger southerly winds at high elevations.
The clearest change will not arrive during the weekend. Aemet’s forecast still has 37 degrees for Monday and 35 for Tuesday in Madrid, before a much sharper fall towards the middle of next week. September therefore begins without an immediate break in the hot spell.