After an unusually fresh and cold period that marked most of May, Europe is expecting a sudden weather reversal. Meteorologists warn of the development of the so-called heat dome, which could already bring very high temperatures and the first serious heat of the year in the coming days.
According to the forecast of the portal Severe Weather Europea strong mass of warm air will spread from northwest Africa to southwest and west Europe, and then to the north and east of the continent. Such a weather pattern is expected to dominate most of Europe until the end of May.
Temperatures above average
The most pronounced warming is expected in Spain, Portugal, France, the Benelux countries and the United Kingdom, where temperatures could already be between 12 and 16 degrees higher than the average for the end of May at the beginning of next week.
Meteorologists say that in some areas, temperatures could exceed 30 degrees Celsius already during Sunday and at the beginning of next week. The warmth will then gradually spread towards Central Europe, Italy and the Balkans.
When it comes to our region, temperatures will start to rise at the beginning of next week.
Although it is not yet completely clear what the temperature peaks will be, forecasters point out that the coming week will be unusually warm for this time of year.
The heat dome phenomenon
Meteorologists explain that a heat dome is a phenomenon that occurs when a large area of high pressure stabilizes over a continent and traps very warm air in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
Rising temperatures from Sunday to Wednesday
Such a system acts like a lid on a pot – it retains heat and prevents it from dissipating, which is why temperatures can remain extremely high for days or even weeks.
It is this phenomenon that has been associated with some of the most intense and record-breaking heat waves in Europe in recent years, he writes Focus.
