Spain is facing a volatile combination of extreme summer heat and locally severe thunderstorms on Wednesday, August 12, just hours before millions of people are expected to look skyward for the country’s historic total solar eclipse.
The State Meteorological Agency, AEMET, is highlighting potentially strong thunderstorms capable of producing hail and very strong wind gusts across parts of eastern Spain, including areas of Aragón, Castilla-La Mancha and the southeastern peninsula.
At the same time, intense heat continues across a much broader area, maintaining heat stress and very high to extreme wildfire danger in many parts of the country.
The timing is particularly notable because the unsettled weather is developing ahead of one of Spain’s most anticipated astronomical events in generations.
🌒 🧵Hoy es el día del eclipse: una jornada muy especial para disfrutar con cuidado. El calor va a ser intenso y el peligro de incendios es muy alto o extremo en amplias zonas de la Península y en Baleares.
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) August 12, 2026
¡Mucha precaución Un fuego que se inicie será muy difícil de controlar. pic.twitter.com/VtBC4TlMf9
Total solar eclipse crosses Spain this evening
A total solar eclipse will cross Spain around sunset on Wednesday, August 12, becoming the first total eclipse visible from the Iberian Peninsula in more than a century.
According to Spain’s Instituto Geográfico Nacional, the path of totality will cross the country from west to east and pass through numerous provincial capitals, including A Coruña, León, Bilbao, Zaragoza and Valencia before reaching Palma de Mallorca.
Spain lies near the end of the eclipse’s global path, meaning totality will occur with the Sun already very low above the western horizon.
The eclipse will begin globally at 17:34 Spanish peninsular time, with the spectacle reaching Spain later in the evening. In much of the country, the most dramatic phases will occur after 20:00.
At locations within the path of totality, daylight will briefly fade as the Moon completely covers the Sun. The maximum duration of totality visible from Spain will be less than two minutes.
The Instituto Geográfico Nacional recommends observation points with an unobstructed view toward the west because of the Sun’s unusually low elevation during the event.
Thunderstorms could complicate eclipse viewing
Weather will therefore play an unusually important role Wednesday evening.
While much of Spain is expected to experience relatively favorable viewing conditions, localized thunderstorms and cloud associated with afternoon convection could interfere with visibility in some areas.
This is particularly relevant in eastern Spain because the eclipse’s path of totality passes through parts of Aragón and the Valencian Community.
Zaragoza and Valencia are both situated within the totality corridor.
Thunderstorms developing during the afternoon could generate rapidly changing cloud conditions, meaning locations that are clear several hours before the eclipse may not necessarily remain clear as totality approaches.
AEMET has been issuing dedicated meteorological information ahead of the eclipse, focusing particularly on cloud cover and other atmospheric conditions capable of affecting visibility.
Because totality occurs close to sunset, even relatively limited cloud near the western horizon could obscure the Sun during the most important phase.
Intense heating actually helps thunderstorms erupt
The severe-weather threat is being driven partly by the same intense summer heating affecting much of Spain.
Strong sunshine heats the ground through the day, warming the lowest layers of the atmosphere. Where sufficient moisture is available and cooler or more unstable air exists higher in the atmosphere, this warm air can rise rapidly.
¡#Tormentas localmente muy fuertes en puntos de interior del sureste #PenínsulaIbérica! Esta tarde (10/08/2026), #ReventónHúmedo en #Alcoy (#Alicante). Más de 40 l/m² y rachas de viento de hasta 116 km/h en la ciudad y de 130 km/h en las afueras. Vídeos: Pau y Hortensia Molines. pic.twitter.com/28RwAn7dFN
— MeteOrihuela (@MeteOrihuela) August 10, 2026
Once convection becomes established, thunderstorms can develop quickly during the afternoon and evening.
The combination of strong instability and deep convective clouds increases the potential for hail. Powerful downdrafts developing within thunderstorms can also transport stronger winds toward the surface, producing sudden and potentially damaging gusts.
These storms are likely to remain highly localized. One community may experience sunshine and intense heat while another relatively nearby is hit by heavy rain, hail, lightning and powerful wind gusts.
That variability could make eclipse viewing conditions particularly difficult to predict locally.
Heat continues to remain a major hazard
Thunderstorms are only one side of Wednesday’s weather story.
Very high temperatures continue across large areas of Spain. In Castilla-La Mancha, temperatures could approach 39 to 40°C (102 to 104°F) in the Tajo and Guadiana valleys, with similarly intense heat affecting other interior areas.
Persistent high temperatures are also maintaining dangerous wildfire conditions.
The combination of hot, dry vegetation and thunderstorms presents an additional concern because not every storm produces widespread soaking rainfall.
Lightning can ignite dry vegetation, while strong and erratic thunderstorm outflow winds can rapidly alter the behavior of an existing wildfire.
The huge number of people expected to travel to eclipse-viewing locations has made wildfire prevention an additional concern. Authorities have introduced restrictions in some natural areas, including road and forest-track closures in parts of Cuenca and Guadalajara aimed at reducing fire risk during the expected influx of visitors.
Millions are getting ready to witness a historic event
The eclipse is expected to generate unusually large movements of people across Spain as observers travel toward locations within the totality corridor.
Authorities have warned against stopping on roads or hard shoulders to watch the event and have urged travelers to plan their journeys carefully.
Weather conditions will add another variable.
People traveling to viewing sites in eastern Spain should monitor both AEMET’s latest thunderstorm warnings and its eclipse-specific cloud forecasts throughout the afternoon, particularly in Aragón and the Valencian Community.
Anyone observing the partial phases must also use certified solar-eclipse glasses. Ordinary sunglasses do not provide adequate protection for looking directly at the Sun.
For Spain, Wednesday evening will bring an unusual intersection of meteorology and astronomy: extreme summer heat at ground level, thunderstorms building through an unstable atmosphere, and the Moon’s shadow racing across the country shortly before sunset.
For some observers, whether they see the first total solar eclipse from mainland Spain in more than a century may ultimately come down to what the atmosphere does in the final few hours before totality.
