Weather in Malaga – May 2016

The average maximum temperature during May 2016 in Malaga was 23.2 Celsius (74F), and that was 0.7 Celsius (1F) below normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 15.9 Celsius (61F), and that was 0.3 Celsius (<1F) below the normal May value.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 30.4 Celsius (86F) on the 22nd, but the next highest was only 28.0 Celsius (82F) on the 25th Overall, there were 11 days when maxima exceeded 25 Celsius (77F), with the first of these warmer days occurring on the 15th. The first half of the month was generally very cool, and 7 out of the first 12 days in May had maximum temperatures below 20 Celsius (68F); this included 5 consecutive very cool days beginning on the 8th. The coolest day was the 8th when a high of 17.5 Celsius (63F) was recorded. The 10th was only 0.1 Celsius (0.2F) less cool.

There were no particularly warm nights during May, although on 4 nights the minimum temperature was above 18 Celsius (64F). The warmest night was the 27th/28th when a low of 18.6 Celsius (66F) was recorded, but the 22nd/23rd was only o.1 Celsius (0.2F) cooler. On most nights, minimum temperatures were between 15 and 18 Celsius (59-64F), but on 9 nights minima were below 15 Celsius (59F). All these cooler nights were before mid month and included 4 nights when the temperature fell below 13 Celsius (55F). There were 3 consecutive nights, beginning on the 10th/11th, when the temperature dipped below 13 Celsius (55F), but the lowest temperature occurred just before dawn on the 3rd when 12.0 Celsius (54F) was measured.

The sea temperature was around 18 Celsius (64F) at first, falling to 17 Celsius (63F) for a while during the second week before rising to 18 Celsius (64F) again after mid month. During the last week a further rise to 19 Celsius (66F) occurred, but during the last couple of days of May a lowering of sea temperatures to a chilly 16 or 17 Celsius (61-63F) was noticed.

There were 99.3 millimetres (3.9 ins.) of rain measured during May and that was over 7 times the monthly average. It was the wettest May since records began at this site in 2006 and was one of the wettest Mays ever recorded in the area. The wettest May at Malaga Airport was back in 1946 when 119 millimetres (4.7 ins.) of rain were recorded. Significant rain (0.2 millimetres (0.01 ins.) or more) fell on  10 days and that was 7 days above average for the month. The first rain fell on the morning of the 5th, and although only 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.) of rain was measured, it was the first of 9 consecutive days when measurable rain fell. This was the most prolonged spell of ‘wet’ weather recorded in any month in records back to 2005. The 6th was the wettest day, and the 36.1 millimetres (1.4 ins.) that fell was a record high for May at this site. Although very little rain fell on the 7th, the following 5 days produced 11,21,12,8 and 9 millimetres (0.4, 0.8, 0.5, 0.3 and 0.4 ins.) respectively. Only 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.) of rain fell on the 13th and then the next fortnight was dry. The last rain of the month fell on the 28th when a weakening cold front was responsible for an afternoon shower that gave 0.5 millimetres (0.02 ins.).

There were no reports of thunder in this part of west Malaga.

It was a breezy first half of the month with winds frequently from between east and southeast. Later in May, the wind pattern was more typical, with northwesterly land breezes being replaced by afternoon southeasterly sea breezes. However, on some days a very brisk southwesterly wind developed during the afternoons leading to choppy seas and some lifted sand on the beach. There were 6 days when gusts exceeded 20 knots (23 mph) with all bar 1 of these breezier days occurring before mid month. The highest gust was 28 knots (32 mph) on the 8th, although the position of the wind vane is not ideal when winds blow from a southwesterly direction.

There was no fog observed in west Malaga during May.

Reporting Station	Highest Temp	Lowest Temp	Rain Total (mm)	Wettest	Rain days
Malaga Airport	31.3	10.9	101	31	10
Granada Airport	32.0	5.6	41	10	9
Almeria	29.9	10.6	10	6	4
Seville	32.3	11.0	140	41	11
Cordoba	33.7	6.3	106	31	10
Jerez de la Frontera	31.1	10.6	132	50	10
Murcia	34.5	8.6	12	6	4

Climatology for May

Reporting Station	Extreme High Temp	Extreme Low Temp	Average Rain (mm)	Extreme Wettest day (mm)	Average Rain days
Malaga Airport	35.0	5.0	25	44	3
Granada Airport	38.4	-0.2	28	57	4
Almeria	34.8	8.4	14	44	2
Seville	39.1	3.8	34	45	4
Cordoba	40.1	2.4	34	44	5
Jerez de la Frontera	38.2	5.0	37	74	4
Murcia	38.5	5.0	32	35	4