For the first time this August, none of the weather stations operated by Spain’s State Meteorological Agency, Aemet, recorded a noche tórrida, or torrid night, when the temperature fails to fall below 25C.
It certainly wasn’t cold on the Costa Blanca last night (Saturday 15 August), but overnight temperatures dropped below the 25C threshold even in some of the coastal areas that have endured particularly uncomfortable nights this summer.
Alicante recorded a minimum of 23.5C, Benidorm 23.7C and Jávea 22C, while further south Rojales fell to 23.3C and Orihuela to 23.2C.
At Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport, the minimum was exactly 24C.
Alcoy enjoyed a much cooler night
The biggest difference within Alicante province could be found away from the coast.
Alcoy dropped to 19.5C overnight, making it one of the relatively few locations in the figures released by Aemet to fall below 20C.
That is quite a contrast with the warm nights experienced along much of the coastline.
Elche recorded a minimum of 23.4C, Novelda 23.5C and Alicante city 23.5C.
So while nobody on the coast was reaching for an extra blanket, it was at least a break from nights when temperatures have remained at or above 25C until morning.
What exactly is a ‘torrid night’?
Spain uses several terms to describe particularly warm nights.
A noche tropical, or tropical night, occurs when the minimum temperature remains at 20C or above.
A noche tórrida, generally translated as a torrid night, takes things another step: the temperature never drops below 25C.
That means much of the Costa Blanca still experienced a tropical night, but crucially, the stations in Aemet’s figures stayed below the torrid-night threshold.
After the exceptionally warm nights experienced during August, that small difference can be noticeable when it comes to sleeping.
Much cooler elsewhere in the Valencian Community
The contrast becomes considerably greater when you look beyond the Costa Blanca.
Vilafranca del Cid, in Castellón province, fell to just 12.7C, while Ademuz in Valencia province recorded 13.8C.
Fontanars dels Alforins dropped to 14.7C and Utiel to 16.1C.
Elsewhere, Morella and Bicorp both recorded 17.6C, while Ontinyent reached a minimum of 18.2C.
Those figures may sound positively autumnal compared with the overnight temperatures along the Alicante coastline.
Still warm, but a welcome change
Nobody is going to mistake 23C or 24C overnight for a chilly August night.
However, after a run of very high temperatures and particularly warm nights, Saturday’s readings marked a notable change.
The figures also show how varied overnight conditions can be across the Valencian Community. While inland locations dropped well into the teens, much of the Costa Blanca remained above 20C because of the influence of the Mediterranean.
For now, though, we can at least say that one unwanted August run has finally come to an end.
Not a single Aemet station recorded a torrid night.
We’ll take that.
Bridging the Gap recap
- For the first time this August, none of Aemet’s weather stations in the Valencian Community recorded a torrid night, meaning a minimum of 25C or above.
- Alicante city fell to 23.5C overnight.
- Benidorm recorded 23.7C, Jávea 22C, Rojales 23.3C and Orihuela 23.2C.
- Alicante-Elche Airport recorded 24C.
- Alcoy enjoyed a much cooler minimum of 19.5C.
- Much of the Costa Blanca still experienced a tropical night, with temperatures remaining above 20C.
- The coolest figure reported by Aemet was 12.7C in Vilafranca del Cid, Castellón province.
