For late May, this is a historic, record-shattering heatwave. An
extraordinary thermodynamic plume sends a massive core of extreme
warmth over Spain, Portugal, Ireland, the UK, France, and Germany.
Temperatures are soaring by 12-16 °C above long-term climatological norms.
Heat Dome Update: Europe Braces for Record-Breaking Late May Heatwave
Europe is facing a dramatic synoptic turnaround sweeping across the continent, driven by a powerful upper-level subtropical ridge building northward from Africa. A classic, highly anomalous and powerful Heat Dome has parked over Western and Central Europe.
This atmospheric block acts as a physical lid, trapping a subsiding air mass beneath it. The intense solar radiation combined with compression forces the air, intensifying heat towards the surface. . .
Over the past weekend, record-breaking temperatures were already
being recorded across parts of Western Europe.
- Weather stations recorded the UK’s hottest May day in nearly 80 years, with London hitting 32.3 °C.
- Meanwhile, the southern and southwestern regions of Portugal, Spain, and France are experiencing extreme daytime highs of 35°C to 38°C. Italy recorded 31-34 °C on Sunday; it was 30-33 °C in Germany, around the Alps, and in parts of the Balkans.
This final week of May 2026, the temperatures across Western Europe will be around 12-16 °C above the long-term average, which is staggeringly high for late May.
Historic Heat Dome delivers record-shaterring late-May heatwave to Europe
