Weather in Andalucia

Weather generally in Andalucia

There are three distinctive weather zones in Andalucia.

THE COASTAL ZONE - MÁLAGA, CÁDIZ, HUELVA, ALMERÍA

The Andalusian coast, the Costa del Sol and Marbella experience hot summers, with almost daily sunshine from June to September and little or no rain. Daily highs reach 35°C, with night-time lows of 15°C, but it is definitely always short-sleeved weather. The winters are mild, with a mixture of beautiful, clear, sunny days and overcast but warm days. Winter evenings are noticeably cooler, but nightly lows rarely drop below 10°C, while daytime highs remain around 20°C.

Hot Summers
You can sunbathe almost every day from June to September. There is virtually no rain. Daily highs of about 35°C and nightly lows of 15°C. It's shirt-sleeve weather all the time, evenings included.

Mild Winters
There is a mixture of beautiful, clear, sunny winter days and overcast but warm days. Evenings are noticeably cooler. The first rains are in late September or early October and can be heavy, but rarely last more than a day or two. Daily highs are around 20°C, with nightly lows rarely dropping much below 10°C. Wear a pullover during the day and a jacket in the evening.

INLAND LOWLAND ZONE - SEVILLE, CÓRDOBA, JAÉN

Very Hot Summers
The hot sun shines almost every day from June to September. There is virtually no rain. July and August are almost too hot. Daily highs of up to 40°C and nightly lows of 18°C. It's shirt-sleeve weather all the time, evenings included.

Mild Winters
There is a mixture of beautiful, clear, sunny winter days and overcast but warm days. Evenings are noticeably cooler. The first rains are in late September or early October and can be heavy, but rarely last more than a day or two. Daily highs are around 20°C, with nightly lows rarely dropping below 10°C. Wear a pullover during the day and a jacket in the evening.

INLAND HIGHLAND ZONE - GRANADA, JAÉN, SIERRA NEVADA

Warm Summers
It is sunny almost every day between June and September. There is virtually no rain. It remains hot in July and August. The strength of the sun in the highlands can be deceptive, so make sure you wear sunscreen! Daily highs reach 30°C, with nightly lows of 8°C. It's short-sleeved shirt weather during the day, perhaps with a jumper in the evenings.

Cool Winters
There are beautiful, clear, sunny winter days, as well as overcast, cool ones. Evenings are much colder after sunset. The first rains fall in late September or early October and can be heavy, but they rarely last more than a day or two. Daily highs are around 20°C, with nightly lows dropping to freezing. You will need a jumper or jacket during the day and a warm coat in the evening. Room heating is 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 "The Costa del Sol has over 320 days of sunshine a year" is quoted everywhere, from the tourist board website to real estate sites and many blogs. Is this true?

Actually, that's not true. The misunderstood source appears to originate form the last detailed 30-year report from AEMET (the Spanish Met Office). The summary is in the table below. The report explains that Málaga had an average of 111 days of full sun (dawn to dusk) and 205 days 'with clouds' (an AEMET phrase meaning partial sun), as well as 49 'covered' (overcast) days.

So it is true to say that, on average, "The Costa del Sol has 111 days of sun a year" or "The Costa del Sol has 316 days with sun a year" but not "Costa del Sol has 320 days of sun a year".

Malaga has 2,912 hours of sunshine a year is an average of 8 hours of sunshine a day. Malaga's 2,912 hours of sunshine, if occuring in a block, would be 242 days of sunshine and 123 days of cloud. All of which make for a very agreeable climate.

The Costa del Sol is sunnier and warmer in Nerja, in the east, than in Estepona, in the west. This is due to the influence of the Strait of Gibraltar. Malaga, in the centre of the Costa del Sol, has 2,912 hours of sunshine a year, while Almeria, further east, has 2,992 hours. This is why today's Costa Almeria used to be called the Costa del Sol. Almería is probably the sunniest city in Europe; other places that are often labelled as such include Valletta (Malta) with 2,957 hours and Marseille (France) with 2,858 hours.

 

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

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 15 mm 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