Temperatures soar well above normal in Paris, London as heat wave builds

After a brief reprieve in early August, Mother Nature is set to roast western Europe with another brutal heat wave.

The month of July ended on a hot note for major cities like Paris and Madrid, both of which experienced temperatures of 39 C (103 F) on the afternoon of July 31. Over the first few days in August, temperatures have trended closer to normal in each city.

With only a few days to cool off, another round of extreme heat will target these cities, and many others, into the beginning of the week.

"High pressure settled in Germany will bring another surge of heat across much of western Europe, from Spain and Portugal to England and Germany," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys.

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Temperatures began to creep upward on Thursday before peaking in some areas on Friday. Many areas recorded their highest temperatures during the weekend.

While some locations will get only a couple of afternoons with exceedingly high temperatures, others will have a longer period of extreme heat.

The hottest day in London was Friday with a high temperature of 37 C (98 F), the hottest day in August since 2003. The temperature reached 33 C (91 F) on Saturday with similar readings expected in England's capitol city into the beginning of the week.

A normal high temperature in London for Aug. 7 is around 22 C (72 F).

Elsewhere, the most intense heat didn't arrive in northwest German and northern Italy until the start of the weekend. Berlin, Germany, reached 35 C (95 F) and Milan, Italy, reached 32 C (90 F) on Saturday.

"The core of the prolonged heat will be centered across France and into Germany, where temperatures will soar more than 10 C (18 F) above normal for this time of year," Roys added.

Several cities, including Paris, made a run at 38 C (100 F) on Saturday, with temperatures holding in the middle 30s C (upper 90s F) even into next week.

This is the first Paris has recorded a temperature of 38 C (100 F) or higher in August since 2012. A normal temperature in Paris for early August is around 25 C (77 F). The city's all-time high is 42.6 C (108.7) from July 25, 2019.

Despite the surge of hotter air, temperatures are likely to fall short of all-time city records.

Mostly dry conditions are expected to accompany the heat into early next week, although some pop-up showers or thunderstorms may fire in the afternoon on Monday. This will help to keep temperatures a couple of degrees lower.

The combination of the recent dry weather, plus this second wave of heat, will put stress on some of the crops across France and northern Italy.

This will also continue to dry out vegetation across much of France, which has been dealing with several wildfires across the country, including the fire near Marseille that began on Tuesday.

The AFP reported that the fire grew 8 km (about 5 miles) in just two hours.

Over 1,000 firefighters continued to battle the blaze through Wednesday, which ultimately caused more than 2,500 people to evacuate from their homes. Several aircraft were deployed to help contain the fire.

Smoke in southern France could make the air unhealthy for some, especially more sensitive groups.

"Heat-related illnesses will also be a concern for anyone spending time out in the heat through the weekend, especially the elderly or those with pre-existing conditions," warned Roys.

Roys is also concerned about the high energy demand into next week. Power outages may be possible due to high electricity usage, with residents in newer buildings turning up the air conditioning.

While expansive heat is not expected to continue everywhere next week, heat may linger in some locations even as long as the middle of next week in some locations.

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