It is often assumed that by the end of June the weather on the Costa del Sol has settled down. This year has proved that that is not always a foregone conclusion.

On the 27th June a cold front ambled slowly eastwards across western Europe with severe thunderstorms being spawned ahead of it across parts of northern Spain, France, the Low Countries and the United Kingdom. 

In southern Spain, the front was much weaker , but nevertheless, several high-level  thunderstorms developed over northern Morocco and moved north-northeast towards the Costa del Sol.  
Although some loud rumbles of thunder echoed around the Malaga hills, amounts of rain were mostly trivial, and certainly not sufficient to assuage the ever-increasing threat of drought. 

The extensive cloud cover helped to reduce the maximum temperatures on the 27th to the high  20s Celsius (low 80s Fahrenheit)  although the relatively high humidity made it feel oppressive. On the 28th, the cold front cleared away to the east, the sunshine returned and it became progressively warmer.

As is often the case, the warmest days follow the eastwards passage of a cold front. The cold air is usually shallow in depth and quickly warms out in the summer heat. This process is accentuated on the Costa del Sol as the resultant  northwesterly 'Foehn' wind heats the  air as it descends from the mountains towards the coast. 

On the 29th the temperature rose to 35 Celsius (95F) in the Malaga area with the daily sea breeze unable to combat the moderate or fresh wind from the land. 
After a very warm night, with minimum temperatures around 23 or 24 Celsius (73-75F),  the following day (30th) was very hot. Temperatures soared to 37 Celsius (99F) and with the land breeze blowing even the beaches were not spared the heat. 
The low humidity made the high values bearable, if rather unpleasant, and on the beaches there was the occasional hint of a sea breeze. 

Strangely enough, a brief influx of sea air at 2 o'clock in the afternoon at this site dramatically lowered temperatures to 23 Celsius (73F), the lowest value in the whole 24-hour period. 
Just as rapidly, the temperature rose again as the land breeze re-asserted itself and just after 5 pm the temperature peaked at 37 Celsius (99F).  

The evening and night remained hot, and for those without air conditioning it was very difficult to sleep as temperatures remained at 28 Celsius (82F), or above,  until after dawn. 
Meanwhile, the land breeze weakened as a change in the pressure pattern occurred, and soon after dawn on the 1st July the wind began to swing round to the east or southeast,  the humidity rose, and a more normal sequence of weather returned. 

The 30th June has been the the hottest day of the year so far in the Malaga area. Will temperatures reach 40 Celsius (104F) this year? Who knows, only time will tell.  

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