Summer thunderstorms

Our experience since we arrived in Spain has been that from around mid-June to mid-September the weather has pretty much been classic summer blue skies with the occasional wispy cloud. This year, we've just had about a week where the heat of the day has turned into big (and quite spectacular) summer thunderstorms by the end of the day. The morning and afternoons have been bright blue sky as normal, but from four o'clock onwards clouds have started to gather until at about 5 or 6pm huge dark storm clouds full of thunder and lightening have passed overhead with some torrential rain and even hail. From what we've experienced before, the storms don't usually come until mid-September at the earliest so these are probably to do with the later start to the summer this year.

We had to go out to Girona airport on one of the days and you could see the storms in the mountains over the airport and as we came back the clouds seem to follow across the Gavarres and across to the sea. It wouldn't be a problem, but when you're working here, you like to go to the beach in the evening - the sea's a bit warmer and it's easier to park or find space. The storms put paid to that idea. There's also a second downside, which is the rain tends to wash a lot of flotsam and jetsam into the sea and it can make the water mucky for the next day too. At least we're not in Barcelona where the storms clear out the indescrible debris of the city into the sea.