Spain's warmest October in a century pushes 'verono' to new extremes
After a brutal summer shattered record highs across Europe, October offered little respite from the heat as temperatures surged at least 20 degrees F above average in some locations.
Summer of 2022 was the hottest summer ever recorded for the whole continent of Europe, and if October is any indication, this fall is already following the same scorching pattern.
As autumn colors the leaves across Europe, temperature maps have reflected a similar color template as sweltering heat more reminiscent of the summer baked the continent.
A brutal summer left Europe reeling from deadly wildfires and parched rivers and reservoirs, but as fall arrived, it offered little respite from the heat. From as far north as Sweden throughout Europe and into North Africa, temperatures throughout the month of October skyrocketed to at least 25 degrees Fahrenheit above normal in one location.
The mercury cracked 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32.7 degrees Celsius) in Toledo, Spain, creating what could have been mistaken as a sweltering summer day if it hadn't been late October. Toledo's normal high temperature for that day, Oct. 27, is 64.9 degrees (18.3 C).
Areas in Catalonia, Aragon and the Basque Region surpassed 86 degrees F (30 C) the same day, and at least three stations in Spain surpassed 95 degrees (35 C).
Spain and other parts of Europe have been experiencing unseasonably high temperatures. (AFP)
Jerez Airport, located near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in the southern providence of Cadíz, recorded nine days throughout October that reached or broke 90 degrees Fahrenheit, according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Tony Zartman. The site's normal high temperature ranges from 78 F at the beginning of the month to 70 F at the end of October.
"The month has not yet ended but we can already say practically without fear of contradiction that it will be the hottest (in Spain) since 1961," when records began, Ruben del Campo of Spain's meteorological service Aemet told AFP.
He added that if extrapolated data from historical reconstructions are taken into account, this past month will have been Spain's warmest October in a century.
Even for a nation where the term "veroño," or an amalgamation of the Spanish word for "summer" (verano) and autumn (otoño), has come into fruition in recent years to describe a period of dry and warm weather that lingers during the beginning of fall, the blistering temperatures were unusual for the season.
"There was a large ridge of high pressure that actually kept a large portion of Europe above average through the month of October," Zartman said.
October 2022 ended up being one of the warmest on record for a swath of nations, including France, where dozens of records melted across the nation. As an emphasis on the late-season heat, Oct. 29 was France's hottest measured national average after Oct. 20, Etienne Kapikian, a meteorologist with Meteo France, tweeted.
This was also the warmest October for Austria and Switzerland. In Belgium, October 2022 tied with the same month in 2001 as the warmest October.
In Germany, temperatures rose to 26.6 C (79.88 F) at Aue, a small town in Saxony, one of the 14 stations in the nation that rose above 25 C (77 F). Switzerland and Poland recorded their latest 25 degrees C (77 F) on Oct. 30, and Slovenia recorded its latest 26 C (78.8 F) on the same day. In Eastern Europe, Croatia recorded its latest 29 degrees C (84.2 F) on Oct. 31.
"We have never observed warmth like this in Europe so late in the year," London-based meteorologist Scott Duncan posted on Twitter.
He highlighted a high temperature of 20.4 degrees Celsius at Kolomansberg, Austria, on Oct. 30, which surpassed the old station record by roughly 3 degrees and earned the title of warmest October night in the nation's recorded history.
"Minimum temperature of 20.4 degrees C is a tropical night by definition," he added.
The extreme heat follows a summer that was characterized by multiple record-breaking heat waves across the continent that spurred on wildfires and exposed drought markers.
In this photo taken by Ume (military emergency unit), a Military Emergency Unit personnel works to extinguish a forest fire in Useres, eastern Spain, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. Drought and extremely high temperatures in the Mediterranean country are turning 2022 into the worst year of the century in terms of fires. (UME via AP)
Hunger stones surfaced in many European rivers over the summer as drought gripped the continent, their ancient messages warning of the consequences of drought. According to the European Drought Observatory, at least 47% of Europe had been in drought warning conditions, the second of three drought categories, at one point in mid-August.
The fires across Athens, Greece, garnered national attention over the summer as flames ran rampant along the foothills of Mount Pentelikon in Attica, prompting evacuation orders. Southwestern France and northwestern Spain also had their fair share of wildfires, as drought conditions and high temperatures presented dangerous fire conditions.
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