HURRICANE Alex has moved on after battering Spain on its journey north-west towards the UK, and most of the country is now set to enjoy an 'Indian summer', according to the met office.
Temperatures on the Mediterranean are expected to reach around 30ºC, and could rise to as much as 33ºC in Murcia and the provinces of Sevilla, Córdoba and Huelva.
Elsewhere, at least 25ºC is expected in the shade in the middle of the day.
Beach season may not be over yet, even though it is rare not to need at least a light jacket 'just in case' over the October bank holiday weekend, which covers Monday 12 nationwide and also Friday 9 in the Valencia region.
The end of the bank holiday weekend could be rather wet in the north and on the Mediterranean, however, warns the State meteorological agency, AEMET.
But it is not expected to involve storms, floods or high winds, so should not put paid to too many sightseeing plans for anyone intending to spend the four-day break on a trip away.
'Storm Alex' brought winds of over 120 kilometres per hour, with gusts as high as 148 kilometres per hour in the Basque Country, and waves reaching nearly 4.5 metres (14'8”) off the coast of Almería – the highest seen since 1998 – and nearly double that in the Bay of Biscay, at 8.32 metres (around 27 feet).
Rainfall was particularly torrential in parts of the north, with 172 litres per square metre (17.2 centimetres, or six-and-three-quarter inches) near Bilbao and 165 litres per square metre (16.5 centimetres, or six-and-a-half inches) in Santander, Cantabria.
The weather was not especially cold in the southern half of the country – coats were not needed, only umbrellas – but in the Pyrénées in the provinces of Huesca and Lleida, the mercury plunged below zero.
No real chaos or damage was reported as a result of the storm, however – other than high winds fanning a forest fire in Oliva, southern Valencia province, where the arrival of sudden rainfall turned out to be a godsend and helped emergency services in their efforts.
Otherwise, the turn in the weather mainly just provided a free water supply for farmers, golf courses and household gardens, and helped top up reservoirs.
Now that the storm is on its way out, only a few strong gusts are expected in Galicia, Cantabria and the Pyrénées, and light rain in the Canary Islands, throughout the rest of today (Monday).
By tomorrow, 'Alex' is expected to arrive in Scotland – meanwhile, Spain will see its temperatures rise by an average of 8ºC in one hit.
Towards the latter part of the holiday weekend, though, thermometers will start to slide towards 'levels more consistent with the month of October', AEMET predicts.
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