Meteorologists say relief from the heat could arrive on Thursday

A period of extreme heat with temperatures reaching up to 40 degrees will continue through most of this week, forecasters say, but a change is expected on Thursday that should bring temporary relief.

Recent measurements at 17:00 showed the highest readings in Kavadarci and Veles at 38.8 degrees, while Skopje reached 37.6 degrees. The coolest location at that time was Popova Shapka with 21.7 degrees.

The next two days are forecast to be sunny and very hot with only light to moderate cloud cover. In the afternoons there may be isolated short-lived instability producing heavy showers and thunder in some places.

Thursday brings destabilisation

The Hydrometeorological Service (UHMR) warns that a change in the weather will arrive on Thursday, when atmospheric destabilisation is expected to be accompanied by heavy rain, lightning, stronger winds and a fall in temperatures by several degrees.

For Thursday and Friday the outlook points to a marked shift: persistent heavy showers, thunderstorms and a strengthened northerly wind are likely. Meteorologists caution that locally these processes can take the form of severe storms.

Because of the instability daily temperatures will drop, and on Friday daytime values are expected to range between 32 and 38 degrees, while morning minima at higher elevations can fall as low as 10 degrees.

Photo: Слободен печат /Методи Здравев