Weather in Malaga – October 2018

The average maximum temperature during October 2018 in Malaga was 23.2 Celsius (74F), and that was 0.6 Celsius (1F) below normal for the time of year.  The average minimum temperature was 16.5 Celsius (62F), and that was 0.5 Celsius (1F) below normal for October. Overall, it was the coolest October in west Malaga for 6 years.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was  31.8 Celsius (89F) on the 7th, but there were only 2 other days when the maximum exceeded 26 Celsius (79F). These were the first 2 days of the month, and included a high of 29.4 Celsius (85F) on the 1st. Most of the warm days occurred during the first 2 weeks of October, and of the 9 days when the temperature exceeded 25 Celsius (77F), only 1 occurred after the 13th. On the 22nd a high of 25.3 Celsius (78F) was recorded. Although it became generally cooler with time, the 19th, with a maximum of 19.6 Celsius (68F), was the only day when the temperature failed to reach 20 Celsius (68F) before the 28th. The last 4 days of the month were very cool with temperatures not reaching 18 Celsius (64F). The 31st had a high of 16.1 Celsius (61F), but it was the preceding day that was coolest. Persistent rain prevented the temperature from rising above 14.8 Celsius (59F), and that was the coolest October day since records began in 2005.

There were several warm and humid nights during early October. On 4 occasions the temperature remained above 20 Celsius (68F), with 2 nights sharing the highest minimum. On both the 1st and 8th the temperature only fell to 21.6 Celsius (71F). Night-time temperatures stayed above 15 Celsius (59F) until the 14th, but during the remainder of the month there were 8 occasions when minimum values dipped below 15 Celsius (59F). The 19th, with a low of 12.1 Celsius (54F), was the coolest night before the 28th, but the last 4 nights each produced minima below 11 Celsius (52F). The coolest nights were the 29th and 31st, with both having lows of 9.3 Celsius (49F).

The sea temperature was around 24 and 25 Celsius (75-77F) during the first week but fell to between 21 and 23 Celsius during the middle of the second week. It held up well for most of the remainder of October, but the last 4 days experienced a steady decline to 17 Celsius (63F) by the 31st.

There were 147.2 millimetres (5.8 ins.) of rain during October, and that was 270% of the average for the month. It was the wettest October since 2008, and was only 0.1 millimetre (<0.01 ins.) less wet than October 2008. Rain fell on 11 days, and that was 5 days above the monthly average. The first 8 days of the month, but a few light showers on the 9th gave less than 1 millimetre (0.04 ins.) of rain. On the morning of the 10th torrential rain fell with local flooding. The total was 35.8 millimetres (1.4 ins.), with much of the rain falling between 0800 and 0900 hours local time. Showery rain added another 7 millimetres (0.3 ins.) to the total on the 11th, but the following 2 days were dry. Rain, heavy at times, gave another 13 millimetres (0.5 ins.) on the morning of the 14th with showery rain producing nearly 2 millimetres (0.07 ins.) on the evening of the 15th. Light showers occurred early on the 16th, with heavy rain early on the 18th totalling over 23 millimetres (0.9 ins.). Showers gave small amounts of rain on the 20th and 28th, but the end of the month was very wet. The 30th was a particularly miserable day. Steady, often heavy, rain gave 38.9 millimetres (1.5 ins.), and after early sunshine, the last day of the month turned cloudy, then wet, with 23.9 millimetres (1 in.) to cap the very wet month.

Thunder

Not surprisingly, the wet weather produced several thundery outbreaks. the total of 6 ‘thunder’ days was the highest in October since records began in 2005. The first thunderstorm occurred on the afternoon of the 1st, with an especially thundery spell of weather lasting from the afternoon of the 9th through to mid morning on the 10th. Further thunder occurred mid to late morning on the 11th. Thunder was frequent, but often distant, on the morning of the 18th, with distant rumbles again on the morning of the 19th.

The typical east or southeasterly late morning and afternoon sea breezes occurred during the first week of October. Thereafter, northwesterly breezes were more dominant, with variations as thundery troughs disrupted the normal seasonal patterns.  It was often windy, and even when local winds winds were light, large waves indicated strong winds not too far away. Gusts exceeded 20 knots (23 mph) on 9 days, and included readings of 28 knots (32 mph) on both the 19th and 28th, and 29 knots (33 mph) on the last day of the month.

No fog was observed in west Malaga during October.

Reporting Station	Highest Temp	Lowest Temp	Rain Total (mm)	Wettest	Rain days
Malaga Airport	33.8	7.7	162	54	11
Granada Airport	31.4	-0.9	58	12	10
Almeria	29.3	9.2	40	10	9
Seville	34.5	6.0	96	24	9
Cordoba	33.7	4.6	124	34	10
Jerez de la Frontera	33.7	4.3	104	25	10
Murcia	30.7	8.3	55	26	9

Climatology for October

Reporting Station	Extreme High Temp	Extreme Low Temp	Average Rain (mm)	Extreme Wettest day (mm)	Average Rain days
Malaga Airport	36.4	5.6	56	109	4
Granada Airport	33.7	-2.6	42	53	5
Almeria	32.8	7.6	23	56	3
Seville	36.6	2.0	62	83	6
Cordoba	36.9	1.0	62	91	6
Jerez de la Frontera	36.5	2.8	67	97	6
Murcia	36.1	1.0	44	136	4