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The weather in Barcelona will remain changeable throughout the weekend
Barcelona faces a much greyer and cooler Friday than usual for this time of May. The arrival of a cold front from the north will bring overcast skies for much of the day and will clearly increase the risk of rain and storms, especially from the afternoon onwards.
The morning will begin with abundant cloud and a damp atmosphere from early on. The westerly wind will blow with some force in areas of the Baix Llobregat and will make the perceived temperature lower than on previous days. Although rain will be insignificant in the city during the first hours, a few isolated showers could appear in areas of Montseny or Alt Maresme.
It will be in the afternoon that conditions become somewhat more complicated. Weather models point to irregular but locally intense storms in counties such as Vallès Oriental and Maresme, with the possibility that some rain cells will reach Barcelona between mid-afternoon and night. Thunder and short spells of heavy rain cannot be ruled out.
Temperatures will also fall compared with Thursday. Highs will hardly exceed 20 or 21 degrees in many parts of the metropolitan area, creating a far more autumnal than spring-like atmosphere. It will be especially noticeable outdoors towards evening, when cool air and humidity become more prominent.
The weekend will be somewhat calmer, although the weather will remain changeable. Saturday will start with more sunny spells, especially in the morning, but clouds will grow again in pre-coastal areas during the afternoon and some isolated showers could break out near Montseny. Sunday will remain unsettled, with new storms forecast especially in parts of the Prelitoral mountain range.
In May, these kinds of abrupt changes are quite common in Barcelona. The combination of cold air aloft, Mediterranean humidity and mountainous terrain tends to generate very localised afternoon storms, capable of leaving major differences between neighbourhoods only a few kilometres apart. For that reason, on days like this, the weather can change completely within an hour.