This summer the Valencia region has been half a degree warmer than average but at the same time it’s been the least hot for the past five years according to Aemet data. The national meteorological agency also recorded a total of 88.6 litres of rain per square metre, 45% more than average.
Temperatures alternated between short very hot periods and other cooler periods which may have given some the feeling that this summer has been exceptionally hot, when in fact there were no long periods of excessively high temperatures.
The norm for summer in Valencia is hot, stable weather, but what has characterised this year has been the instability, but the only days where stable high temperatures were recorded were between 12 and 15 August and between 3 and 18 September.
During the summer, the red alert for high temperatures was activated twice. First on 12 July when the warm air brought dust with it, and temperatures topped 43º in southern Alicante province: Crevillent 44.0; Elche, 43.6; Orihuela, 43.2.
The other episode was the heatwave between 12 and 15 August when many locations passed the 40º mark. The highest recorded was in Jalance, when the mercury reached 45.7º, the highest temperature for the whole region since July 2015.
There were also several episodes of precipitation during the summer, most notably the hail which affected the city of Castellón, the north of Vila-Real and Almassora on 31 July, then there was the torrential rain which fell in Benicàssim and Sagunto on 29 and 30 August and the Vinaròs on 1 September.
The prediction for the next three months is for hot, dry weather.
The Valencia Report 