Today's weather for Los Cristianos, Canary Islands8th Nov 2009 04:00

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Weather Overview for Los Cristianos

Los Cristianos is a resort on the Spanish island of Tenerife of the Canary Islands. It enjoys high temperatures year round. There could be said to be a wet and a dry season, following the hot summer and slightly cooler winter, though rainfall is never very high. The resort sits on the south coast of Tenerife near Playa De Las Americas. As the islands are much further south than Spain, sitting off the west coast of Africa, but surrounded by sea, the islands receive a dry, sub-tropical climate with much milder winters than the rest of Spain but temperatures much cooler than in Western Sahara and Morocco that sit just east of the islands on mainland Africa.

Summer, from June till November sees a mid 20s average high temperature peak in August and September at 27°C. Night time temperatures usually linger around 20°C. Tenerife is known as the ‘Island of Eternal Spring’ due to its consistently warm temperatures. 27°C may seem rather high for spring, but the moderating northeast trade winds help to keep conditions pleasant, as does the low level of humidity which remains throughout the year. The sea is warm but refreshing in the low 20s, perfect for scuba diving amongst the islands coral reef. The number of hours of sunshine per day rises from nine in June to ten in July then decreases steadily, getting down to six in November. The island is always relatively dry; from June till August a total of nine mm of rainfall is expected and the wet season hardly sees a huge volume of rain. Rainfall increases from October but is still infrequent. Rain usually falls in short showers. The end of the season is often subject to calima, spells of hot dry weather blown over from the Sahara by the sirocco wind which often brings sand and dust storms onto the islands.

Winter, from December till May, sees a slight drop in the average high temperature down to the low 20s. It is generally around 22°C with a miniscule dip to 21°C in January and February. Night times become refreshingly cool, the average low temperature dropping down to 16°C in December, 14°C in January and February, and getting back up to 16°C by May. December and January are the wettest months on Tenerife and thunderstorms can often be quite violent affairs: thick walls of rain pounding down causing flash floods. However, showers are usually short-lived. Sunshine does lessen during the winter; from November till January only six hours of sunshine are to be expected each day. However, this average figure is often spread out over whole days of sun interspersed by wet, cloudy days.

Los Cristianos benefits from its location in Tenerife South. Generally, Tenerife has fantastic weather due to its southerly latitude and the surrounding Atlantic Ocean. But the island sees regional variation due to its topography. Mount Teide shelters the southern part of Tenerife from wet weather and cold winds, keeping that side sunnier, drier and hotter.

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