ARCHIVED - Spring-like weekend ahead in Alicante with cloud and sunny spells
Temperatures could still reach 29 degrees Celsus in parts of the province on the Costa Blanca
Alicante province is expected to enjoy a spring-like weekend with spells of cloud, sun and temperature highs of 29 degrees with possible light rain.
On Saturday, the State Meteorological Agency, Aemet, has forecast "some instability", with cloudy intervals throughout the day and a maximum temperature of 26 degrees between 2pm and 5pm.
Sunday is likely to be sunny and warm, with the chance of mercury rising to 29 degrees in the early afternoon, a preview of what to expect in autumn, according to Aemet.
Professor Jorge Olcina from the Alicante University has been analysing the weather over the last four months, and said the summer has been "atmospherically very diverse". explaining that July was cooler than forecasters predicted whilst August was hotter than expected, especially during the third week of the month.
In September, coastal areas experienced extremely humid nights caused by
warm sea temperatures which rarely fell below 20 degrees Celsius.
This has been backed up by data from Aemet which confirms "summer 2021, from June to August quarter was very hot and humid in the Valencian Community".
The agency has stated that the average temperature recorded was 23.5 degress Celsius, which is 0.5 degrees higher than the normal average, and the accumulated precipitation was 88.6 l/m², which is 45% higher than the reference climatology.
But despite high temperatures, it has actually been the least warmest summer of the last five years. This is due to a "great alternation between brief, very warm peaks and other cool periods".
"This gives rise to the sensation of a not excessively warm summer due to the absence of a long period of persistent heat," said Olcina.
The only real stability in high temperatures was during a heat wave from August 12 to 15 and, outside the summer period, between September 3 and 18.
During the summer months, the red warning for high temperatures was activated only twice, the first time on July 12, and the second was during the August heat wave.
Image: Aemet