Today's weather for Malaga, Spain9th May 2008 20:00

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Weather Overview for Malaga

Malaga enjoys a wonderful climate that has helped make it one of Europe’s favourite holiday destinations – it is, after all, the capital city of Spain’s ‘sun coast’.

Malaga’s climate is typically Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and mild winters. The city receives almost 3000 hours of sunshine a year, which equates to about 300 days that boast sunny weather.

SUMMER

Summer in Malaga runs from June through until September. This period can see temperatures reach into the 30s in the middle of the day, although low humidity and sea breezes offer rest bite. Average temperature for the two hottest moths, July and August, is around 25ºC.

June sees an average high of 27°c, while the peak summer months of July and August see average highs of 29°c, before cooling off only slightly in September to an average high of 28°c

Rain is almost non-existent between July and August, while June and September see on average 3 days of rainfall. During these 3 days in June, only 52mm falls on average, however recorded precipitation over the 3 days of rainfall in September is 162mm. This shows that while it may ‘rain’ in June, it is often nothing more than a light sprinkle.

WINTER

Winter sees much more rainfall, with November to January being the wettest period in the year. November through until February averages 8 to 9 days of rain, with November and December measuring the greatest level of precipitation.

Much of the rainfall usually falls in short heavy downpours, meaning that sunny days are still frequent in winter. Daytime winter temperatures can often reach up to the 20s when warm southerly winds blowing from the African continent are prevalent. Average temperature is between 12ºC and 13 ºC in winter. At night the temperature will drop into single figures, and very occasionally fall towards zero.

SPRING/AUTUMN

Spring and autumn are both very pleasant times to visit Malaga. Temperatures are warm without reaching uncomfortable levels. Rainfall remains fairly low, although it starts to build from October.

The mountains behind Malaga rise up to heights of over 2000m as you move inland towards the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Since these mountains lie to the north of Malaga they protect it somewhat from the cooler northern winds. This, combined with the warm seas that surround Malaga, means that winter temperatures don’t drop anywhere near as low as they do inland. Similarly, the cooling sea breezes give welcome refreshment during hot summer days.

Like anywhere else, weather can vary from year to year, and heat waves or cold snaps can occur to give weather outside the norm. Some years will be dry, others might be particularly hot. 2004 and 2005, for example, both saw very dry winters, while 2006 was the wettest for some time. January 2006 also saw a freak cold snap where temperatures plummeted, snow settled in the hills behind Malaga and a few snowflakes were even seen on the beach.

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