Weather in Malaga – April 2017

The average maximum temperature during April 2017 in Malaga was 21.2 Celsius (70F), and that was 0.2 Celsius (0.3F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 13.6 Celsius (57F), and that was 0.2 Celsius (0.3F) below the normal April value.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was  32.3 Celsius (90F) on the 15th, and this was the warmest April day in the area for 15 years. The temperature reached 28.3 Celsius (83F) on the 14th, but the only other day when the temperature exceeded 25 Celsius (77F) was the 26th when 25.6 Celsius (78F) was recorded. On most days (16) maximum temperatures were between 20 and 24 Celsius (68-75F), but there were several cool days, these mainly occurring at either end of the month. There were 11 days with maxima below 20 Celsius (68F) including the 5 consecutive days between the 6th and 10th. Only 2 days had highs below 17 Celsius (63F), with both these cooler days occurring at the end of the month. On the 28th a maximum of 16.4 Celsius (61F) was recorded, but the coolest day was the 29th when the temperature only reached 15.5 Celsius (60F).

There were several mild nights during April, with these all occurring from the 14th onwards.  On the 14th, a minimum of 17.6 Celsius (64F) was recorded, but this was only the second mildest day. On the 15th, the temperature failed to fall below 19.4 Celsius (67F), and this was highest April minimum recorded at this site in records going back 11 years. There were no minima above 15 Celsius (59F)  before mid month, but a further 7 days with temperatures remaining above 15 Celsius (59F) occurred after mid month. All the cool nights occurred before mid month, with no minima below 13 Celsius (55F) after the 13th. Before the 14th, there were 11 nights with lows under 13 Celsius (55F), and they were consecutive nights between the 3rd and 13th. This sequence included 3 nights with temperatures dipping under 10 Celsius (50F). The 3rd, 4th and 5th were the coolest nights, with the 5th just the coolest at 9.2 Celsius (48F).

The sea temperature, around 16 Celsius (61F) at the beginning of the month, rose to 17 or 18 Celsius around mid month before briefly dipping to 16 Celsius (61F) again on the 28th.

There were 32.1  millimetres (1.3 ins.) of rain during April, and that was nearly 30% below average.  Apart from a little rain, too little to measure, on the afternoon of the 24th, it was completely dry until the 28th. In the early hours of the 28th there was a brief spell of torrential rain, followed by a day of occasional mostly light rain. The total was 22.9 millimetres (0.9 ins.). Further heavy rain fell in the early hours of the 29th with over 9 millimetres (0.35 ins.) recorded. The rain petered out during the day, and the 30th was a dry and sunny day.

There was a rumble of thunder  in conjunction with the heavy rain overnight on the 28th.

The wind  through April mainly followed a typical early spring pattern with northwesterly land breezes for a while during the mornings, followed by southeasterly sea breezes, these usually dying away after sunset. On the warmer days, mainly around mid month,  the land breezes persisted throughout the day,  and during the third week the southeasterly wind persisted at times during the night. The exception to the normal spring wind regime occurred on the 28th and 29th when a wild easterly Levanter developed and persisted for around 48 hours. Gusts on the evening of the 27th reached 30 knots (34 mph) and on both the 28th and 29th gusts of 37 knots (44 mph) occurred. The only other reports of gusts in excess of 20 knots (23 mph) occurred on the 20th and 21st when readings of 28 knots (32 mph) and 24 knots (28 mph) occurred. However, these winds drove ashore waves of up to 8 metres (26 feet), and extensive coastal defences damage occurred along the Costa del Sol.

There was no fog observed in west Malaga  during April.

Reporting Station	Highest Temp	Lowest Temp	Rain Total (mm)	Wettest	Rain days
Malaga Airport	32.3	7.7	57	33	3
Granada Airport	32.7*	1.9	20	12	3
Almeria	28.0	10.0	10	8	4
Seville	32.7	8.4	49	40	3
Cordoba	34.0**	5.1	60	40	3
Jerez de la Frontera	33.0	5.7	28	19	3
Murcia	33.4	6.9	9	6	3

 * A new record  ** Equalled record

Climatology for April

Reporting Station	Extreme High Temp	Extreme Low Temp	Average Rain (mm)	Extreme Wettest day (mm)	Average Rain days
Malaga Airport	33.0	2.8	41	47	5
Granada Airport	32.7	-3.2	38	35	7
Almeria	30.2	5.3	20	47	3
Seville	35.4	1.0	57	72	7
Cordoba	34.0	0.2	61	61	8
Jerez de la Frontera	33.6	-2.0	54	62	6
Murcia	37.4	0.0	27	84	4