Briefing
The current weather situation: the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has noted in its Atlantic monitoring a non-tropical low located north-east to north-west of the Azores which could deepen in model runs. Spanish media and meteorological services reported on 21 August 2026 that the system was being closely monitored because of its unusual development for August. The description in international bulletins is consistent with a cold-core extratropical cyclone, not a tropical storm.
Main impacts for Spain: AEMET and national authorities have issued warnings and short-term advisories for the coming weekend; areas particularly at risk include the north-west (Galicia, Cantabria, Basque Country) as well as exposed coastal and mountainous areas and the Balearic Islands. Heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected in places, with locally intense rain, small hail and gusty squalls. Westerly to south-westerly gusts are possible along parts of the coast; strong gusts were already reported locally in the Balearic Islands on Thursday night.
Why the NHC is paying attention: experts attribute the NHC’s interest to the fact that extratropical lows in the North Atlantic can occasionally take on subtropical or tropical characteristics. According to the services’ current published assessment, however, there is no reliable evidence that the system will develop into a tropical system; this is an unusual but meteorologically explicable summer pattern (trough/jet stream interaction over relatively warm sea areas).
Uncertainties and advice: The exact track and intensity may change at short notice as new model runs become available. The public, coastal and emergency services authorities, and shipping should therefore follow official updates from AEMET and government agencies. Small-scale convective events (linear thunderstorms) can often be forecast accurately only a few hours before they occur.
Editor: Andreas M. Brucker (Article created with AI assistance).