Long-Lasting Heat Wave Bound for Europe; June Records Smashed in Spain

Jon Erdman
Published: June 29,2015

While record-smashing heat is searing the Northwest United States and southwest Canada, another heat wave is about to become more widespread in Europe, and may last in some areas into next week.

A woman cools off with a fan displayed on a terrace of a bar during a heatwave in Madrid on June 28, 2015.
(GERARD JULIEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Heat records are already being toppled in parts of Spain.
Madrid set a new June record high Sunday, reaching 39.1 degrees Celsius -- 102.3 degrees Fahrenheit -- edging out their previous June record of 38.8ºC on June 26, 2012.
Monday afternoon, parts of the Madrid metropolitan area pushed up to 40 degrees Celsius, which would again set a June record, once the data is finalized.
Cordoba, in southern Spain, reached a sizzling 43.7ºC Sunday (110.7ºF).
(FLASHBACK: Europe May Heat Records)
This heat is about to spread and set anchor in some parts of Europe, and it looks like it'll last through the weekend -- if not longer.
The culprit is an area of high-pressure aloft over and near the Iberian Peninsula, expected to expand as far east as the southern Baltics, Belarus and western Ukraine, and as far north as southern Scandinavia.

Europe Heat Wave Upper-Air Pattern

Current Temperatures

Five Day Forecast

Under this dome of high pressure aloft, dry, sinking air and generally light winds will allow stifling heat to build.
Tuesday and Wednesday, the heat will ramp up considerably in France, the U.K., Belgium, the Netherlands and western Germany.
Forecast highs Wednesday could reach 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of southern England by Wednesday, including London.
(MORE: U.K. Detailed Weather Forecast)
Fortunately for the U.K., a cold front will sweep in by Thursday, limiting the truly excessive heat to a couple of days. Their friends across the English Channel won't be so fortunate.
Meteo France warned the country may experience its hottest temperatures in almost nine years: "The major heat waves that hit France in the past generally occurred later in the summer."
(MORE: Extreme Heat Waves, Cold Snaps More Frequent)
Code orange heat alerts ("vigilance orange") were issued by Meteo France for a large swath of the French interior. Code orange is the second-highest level on the four-color hazard scale adopted by national meteorological services in most European countries.
"Europeans, and the French in particular, have been painfully aware of the dangers of extreme heat since the killer heat wave of July 2003," said weather.com senior meteorologist Nick Wiltgen. According to the United Nations, an estimated 30,000 Europeans (14,000 in France alone) died in that heat wave, making it the deadliest natural disaster of the past 50 years in Europe.
Paris will be sweating through highs from roughly 34 to 39 degrees Celsius on Tuesday into Wednesday. Parts of the country may reach 40 degrees (104 F).
After a brief break, mainly in western France, the heat will return into the upcoming weekend, and could even linger into early next week.
The worst and most persistent heat will spread from Spain and France into Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, western Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania this week.
(FORECASTS: Amsterdam | Brussels | Berlin | Prague | Zurich | Vienna | Budapest | Krakow)
The long-range outlook suggests a cold front may bring some heat relief by early-mid next week from The Netherlands and Belgium into Germany, Poland the Czech Republic, southern Scandinavia and the Baltics.
However, that front may stall out before ever bringing relief to southern Europe.
If your travel plans take you to Europe over the next 7 to 10 days, be prepared for the heat. Limit exposure during the hottest times of the day, take frequent breaks, and drink plenty of water to stay hydrated.

MORE: The "Hidden Gems" of Europe