The seemingly endless summer in Alicante is finally coming to an end, or at least taking a brief pause. A shift in the weather is on the horizon, bringing typical mid-November temperatures to the region by mid-October, though the cooler turn is expected to be temporary.
This comes after the warmest September on record, following similarly record-breaking conditions in July and August. The hottest summer in history has extended into the first fortnight of October, delivering unseasonably warm conditions for this time of year.
According to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), mild conditions will persist through until Friday 16th October, with temperatures remaining between 3 and 4 °C above normal mid-October averages, particularly along the coast.
However, a dramatic change is expected over the weekend. A powerful anticyclone over the British Isles will drive cold air from the north-east, leading to a sharp drop in temperatures from Saturday, according to José Ángel Núñez, Head of Climatology for Aemet in the Valencian Community.
The movement of this air mass across the Mediterranean is also expected to increase cloud cover and bring a likelihood of rainfall, with exact distribution and intensity to be determined in the coming days.
By Sunday, average temperatures are predicted to fall 3.5 °C below the seasonal norm, matching levels typically seen in mid-November. The cooler spell will be brief, with temperatures expected to bounce back above average from Tuesday 20th October.
Aemet confirmed that September was extremely hot and dry across the Valencian Community, marking the warmest September since records began and the driest since 2020. Globally, it ranked as the second-hottest September on record, and the third-hottest in Europe.
The average temperature across the Valencian Community reached 23.2 °C, which is 2.5 °C higher than the reference climate average of 20.7 °C. Cumulative rainfall stood at 32.2 litres per square metre, 44 per cent below the 1991–2020 climate average of 57.9 litres per square metre.
The region has now experienced four consecutive months of extreme heat, with July, August, and September each breaking records for their respective months, and June ranking as the third-hottest since 1950. September included a heatwave during its first week, alongside warm peaks on the 15th and 25th.
Taking the first nine months of the year together, 2026 is officially the warmest year recorded since at least 1950, surpassing the previous record set in 2024 by nearly 0.5 °C.
Despite some local rainfall, wet conditions occurred in only 12 per cent of the territory, mainly in northern Valencia and the northern coast of Alicante due to storms on the 10th, 16th, and 28th of September. In contrast, more than two-thirds of the territory experienced dry or very dry conditions, affecting large areas of Alicante and Castellón provinces, as well as southern Valencia.
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