Weather in Andalucia

Weather Warnings and alerts in Andalucia

Weather alerts (Avisos meteorológicos) are provided by the AEMET with a scale of four alert levels; Green, Yellow, Orange and Red for Rain (Lluvias), Storms (Tormentas), Coastal (Costeros) and Snowfall (Nevadas) updated every hour on their Avisos meteorológicos page.

Green = no risk
Yellow = risk (rainfall 15mm per hour)
Orange = important risk (rainfall 30 mm per hour)
Red = extreme risk (rainfall 60 mm per hour)

The National Plan for the Prediction and Monitoring of Adverse Meteorological Phenomena (Meteoalerta) aims to provide the most detailed and up-to-date information possible on adverse weather conditions in Spain up to a maximum period of 72 hours.

Real Time Rainfall Monitoring

There is a real-time monitoring system of reservoir levels, main river flows and rainfall called the Automatic Hydrological Information System (SAIH). SAIH home page

Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir - SAIH
Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadiana - SAIH
Cuencas Internas de Andalucía - SAIH

The Cuencas Internas de Andalucía includes three water basins:
Mediterráneas Andaluzas (Costa del Sol, La Axarquia, Costa Tropical and Almeria), Guadalete, Barbate and Tinto [river basins], Odial & Piedras [river basins].

Useful links from the Cuencas Internas de Andalucía SAIH:
Rainfall and Temp at weather stations - (Estaciones Hidrosur, )MAP
Weather stations - List
Map of Systems and Sub Systems
Rainfall measurement (Estaciones Pluvometricas - last hour, day, month, year & Summaries.
River levels and flow measurment (Estaciones de Aforo) - List & Map
Current Temperature (Estaciones Meteologicas) - MAP

Weather generally in Andalucia

There are three distinctive weather zones in Andalucia.

THE COASTAL ZONE - MÁLAGA, CÁDIZ, HUELVA, ALMERÍA

The Andalusian coast, Costa del Sol and Marbella experiences hot summers where it is possible to sunbathe almost every day from June until September with little or no rain. Daily highs reach 35° C and nights as low as 15° C but definitely always short sleeve weather. From hot summers to mild winters where one might experience a mixture of beautiful clear, sunny winter days as well as overcast but warm days. The winter evenings are noticeably cooler but the nightly low rarely reaches below 10° C while during the day highs remain around 20° C.

Hot Summers
Sunbathing almost every day from June to September. Virtually no rain. Daily highs about 35C and nightly lows 15C. Shirt sleeve weather all the time evenings included.

Mild Winters
Mixture of beautiful clear, sunny winter days with overcast but warm days. Evenings noticeably cooler. First rains are late September or early October, can be heavy rarely last more than a day or two. Daily highs about 20C and nightly lows rarely much below 10C. Pullover in the day, jacket in the evening.

INLAND LOWLAND ZONE - SEVILLE, CÓRDOBA, JAÉN

Very Hot Summers
Hot sun almost every day from June to September. Virtually no rain. July and August almost too hot. Daily highs up to 40C and nightly lows 18C. Shirt sleeve weather all the time evenings included.

Mild Winters
Mixture of beautiful clear, sunny winter days with overcast but warm days. Evenings noticeably cooler. First rains are late September or early October, can be heavy rarely last more than a day or two. Daily highs about 20C and nightly lows rarely below 10C. Pullover in the day, jacket in the evening.

INLAND HIGHLAND ZONE - GRANADA, JAÉN, SIERRA NEVADA

Warm Summers
Sunny almost every day from June to September. Virtually no rain. July and August still hot. Strength of the sun is deceptive in highlands; Wear sunscreen! Daily highs up to 30C and nightly lows 8C. Shirt sleeve weather in the days perhaps a pullover in the evenings.

Cool Winters
Mixture of beautiful clear, sunny winter days with overcast but cool days. Evenings noticeably much colder after the sunset. First rains are late September or early October, can be heavy rarely last more than a day or two. Daily highs about 20C and nightly lows down to freezing. Pullover or jacket in the day, warm coat in the evening. Room heating required.

Costa del Sol has 320 days of sun a year?

"Costa del Sol has 320 days of sun a year" or "Costa del Sol has more than 320 days of sun a year" or "Costa del Sol has 320 days plus of sun a year" is quoted everywhere from Tourist Board website to real estate websites and many blogs. It is true?

Actually it is not true. The best source is the last AEMET (Spanish Met office) detailed 30 year report. The summary is in the table below. Malaga had on average 111 days of full sun (dawn to dusk) and 205 days 'with clouds' (an AEMET phrase which means partial sun) and 49 'covered' (overcast) days.

So one could say that, on average  'Costa del Sol has 316 days a year with sunshine' or 'Costa del Sol has 111 days of sun a year'. Malaga has 2.912 hours a year, an average of 8 hours of sunshine a day. One could also say on average On the Costa del Sol, the sun shines two thirds of the day'. All of which make for a very agreeable climate. 

The Costa del Sol is actually sunnier and warmer in the east at Nerja than in the west in Estepona. This is due to the influence of the Strait of Gibraltar.  Malaga in the centre has 2.912 hours of sunshine a year and Almeria further east has 2.992. More than Valeta (Malta) with 2.957 hours or Marseille (France) with 2.858 hours and often quoted as the sunniest places in Europe.

Guide to Climate in Spain (1981-2010) by AEMET.

Source: Guía Resumida del Clima en España (1981-2010), AEMET. (link)
Figures per year, rounded to nearest whole number.
Perceptible rain is greater than 0.1 mm
Tropical night is min temp greater than 20C