The maximum temperature of 46.8°C at Valencia Airport on the 10th of August 2023 was an amazing 15.8°C above the LTALTA Long Term Average. This is usually defined as a 30 year period by the WMO.. Anomalies in other parts of Spain where ~6°C above the LTA. It was slightly cooler in the city of Valencia itself with a maximum of 45.1°C and anomaly of 14.4°C. The blisteringly high temperatures were in no doubt helped along by a strong foehnFoehn A foehn, is a type of dry, relatively warm, downslope wind that occurs in the lee (downwind side) of a mountain range. It is a rain shadow wind that results from the subsequent adiabatic warming of air that has dropped most of its moisture on windward slopes (see orographic lift). As a consequence of the different adiabatic lapse rates of moist and dry air, the air on the leeward slopes becomes warmer than equivalent elevations on the windward slopes. wind blowing down from the mountains to the west. At 13 UTCUTC Coordinated Universal Time or UTC is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is within about 1 second of mean solar time (such as UT1) at 0° longitude (at the IERS Reference Meridian as the currently used prime meridian) and is not adjusted for daylight saving time. It is effectively a successor to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). they lifted the temperature from 40.5°C to 46.0°C (RH ~10%). By 15 UTC the sea breeze arrived with winds backing into the ENE and dropping temperatures to 34.0°C. Unusual, but you would have thought this must have happened countless other times in the past.
