Weather in Malaga – March 2020

Very Wet and often Windy

Temperatures

The average maximum temperature during March 2020 in Malaga was 19.0 Celsius (66F), and that was normal for the time of year.  In fact, it was almost 1 degree Celsius (1.5F) cooler than in February. The average minimum temperature was 12.9 Celsius (55F), and that was 1.6 Celsius (3F) above normal for March. Night-time temperatures for March were the highest since records began in 2005.   The highest temperature recorded during the month was  24.9 Celsius (77F) on the 2nd, 9th and 12th. There were 2 other days, the 4th and 26th, when the temperature rose above 23 Celsius (73F). On a further 7 days the temperature exceeded 20 Celsius (68F). Unusually, of the 12 days with maxima above 20 Celsius (68F), only 1 occurred after the 12th. The second half of March was generally cool, and all the cooler days (14), with maximum temperatures of 18 Celsius (64F) or lower, occurred after the 14th. There were 5 days with highs below 16 Celsius (61F),   but only 2 of these days stayed below 15 Celsius (59F). The 25th had a high of 14.7 Celsius (59F). but the coolest day was the 23rd with a maximum temperature of 13.3 Celsius (56F). This equalled the lowest maximum in March since records began (a similar value in 2007), and only 1 day last winter was cooler!   There were many mild nights during March, especially during the first half of the month. and of the 11 nights with minima above 14 Celsius (57F), only 3 occurred after mid month, with none after the 20th. On 3 of these mild nights the temperature remained above 15 Celsius (59F), but the only value above 16 Celsius (61F) was on the 9th when 16.4 Celsius (61F) was recorded. There were no particularly cold nights during March, although on 3 occasions, the 8th, 23rd and 26th, the temperature fell below 10 Celsius (50F). On the 8th, a low of 9.0 Celsius (48F) was measured, but the 26th was a fraction colder at 8.9 Celsius (48F).   The sea temperature stayed around 15 or 16 Celsius (59-61F) throughout the month.  

Rain

There were 142.9 millimetres (5.6 ins.) of rain during March. This was 2.5 times the monthly average. Perhaps surprisingly, it was wetter in March 2018! However, west Malaga has now had more rain than during the whole of 2019. The first 2 weeks of the month were dry, but showery rain gave 0.8 millimetres (0.03 ins.) around lunchtime on the 15th, and light showers gave a further 0.3 millimetres (0.01 ins.) on the 17th. Torrential rain overnight, and late afternoon and evening showers on the 21st, produced 31.5 millimetres (1.2 ins.), and heavy overnight rain, followed by showers, gave another 27.4 millimetres (1.1 ins.) on the 22nd. Showery outbreaks of rain added 23.1 millimetres (0.9 ins.) to the total on the 23rd with more showers or lengthier spells of rain occurring on both the 24th and 25th. Light rain on the 28th only amounted to 0.3 millimetres (0.01 ins.), but the heaviest rain occurred on the morning of the 31st. the total for that day was 47.8 millimetres (1.9 ins.).  

Thunder

There were slight thunderstorms on 3 days during March. A rumble occurred early in the afternoon on the 22nd, with distant rumbles of thunder out to sea on both the 24th and 31st.

Wind

The mainly settled weather during the first half of March was dominated by northwesterly land breezes which were often quite strong at times. The changeable conditions after mid month were often accompanied by strong and gusty winds, but these frequently blew from the east or southeast. Gusts exceeded 20 knots (23 mph) on 14 days, and this included gusts of 33 knots (38 mph) on the 18th, and a solitary gust of 40 knots (46 mph) in the stormy weather on the morning of the 31st.  

Fog

No fog was observed in west Malaga during March. On the 18th, although the wind was blowing from the sea, the air was very dusty. ‘Saharan’ dust presumably.

Statistics for March 2020

Reporting Station	Highest temp.	Lowest temp.	Rain total (mm)	Wettest	Rain days
Malaga Airport	26.8	8.4	149	52	10
Malaga Harbour	25.8	10.5	151	68	9
Fuengirola
Granada Airport
Almeria
Seville
Cordoba
Jerez de la F.
Murcia