Warm and Exceptionally Dry
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during April 2023 in Malaga was 23.6 Celsius (74F), and that was 2.8 Celsius (5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 14.3 Celsius (58F), and that was 0.7 Celsius (>1 F) above normal for April. Overall, it was the warmest April for 12 years, although the mean maximum temperature for the month was the highest since records began in 2005.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 33.0 Celsius (91F) on the 29th. This was a new April record, with many other long-standing records tumbling across southern Spain. There were new record highs for :-
Malaga Airport 34.3 (94F) previous 33.1 (91F) (1942-2023)
Granada Airport 36.9 (98F) previous 32.7 (91F) (1972-2023)
Seville Airport 36.9 (98F) previous 35.5 (96F) (1951-2023)
Jerez Airport 36.7 (98F) previous 33.6 (92F) (1952-2023)
Cordoba Airport 38.8 (102F) previous 34.0 (93F) (1959-2023)
The old record at Cordoba was exceeded on 4 consecutive days
beginning on the 25th. On the 27th, at least 3 stations in southern
Spain beat the previous April record of 37.4 (100F) set on April 9th 2011 at Murcia. The 38.8 (102F) at Cordoba appears to be the highest known temperature recorded in Europe in April.
Back in west Malaga, the temperature was 29.3 Celsius (85F) on the 12th, and maxima exceeded 27 Celsius (81F) on a further 4 days, including 28.1 Celsius (82F) on the 14th. On many days (15) maxima were in the range 21 to 25 Celsius (70-77F), but there were several cooler days. On 6 days the temperature failed to reach 20 Celsius (68F) with 5 of these cooler days occurring before the 10th. The outlier was the 17th when 19.1 Celsius (66F) was recorded. Only 2 of these cooler days had maxima below 19 Celsius (66F). On both the 4th and 5th the temperature only rose to 17.7 Celsius (64F).
Several mild nights occurred in April, although no records were broken. The mildest night was the 29th, when 19.1 Celsius (66F) occurred, but minima of 18.0, 18.1 and 18.5 Celsius (64-65F) were recorded on the 1st, 15th and 30th respectively. On 11 nights, the minimum temperature was between 15 and 18 Celsius (59-64F), and a further 10 nights had lows between 11 and 15 Celsius (52-59F) There were 5 nights with minima below 11 Celsius (52F) with all of these cooler nights occurring before the 9th. On 3 nights the temperature dipped below 10 Celsius (50F), but the only reading below 9 Celsius (48F) was 8.8 Celsius (48F), measured on the night of the 8th.
The sea temperature was around 17 or 18 Celsius (63-64F) throughout the month.
Rain
A few spots of rain fell early in the morning on the 22nd, but not enough to be measured; otherwise, April was completely dry for the first time since records began in 2005.
Thunder
There was no thunder heard in this part of west Malaga during March.
Wind
On most days (20) the northwesterly land breeze was dominant with little, or no, encroachment of sea breezes. The majority of these days had afternoon temperatures well above normal. On 10 days, east to southeasterly winds from the sea were dominant and these largely coincided with afternoon temperatures near, or even below, average. The strongest winds generally blew from the northwest, and on the 2nd gusts peaked at 31 knots (35 mph). Each day between the 11th and 14th there were gusts in excess of 20 knots (23 mph), and on the 29th a gust of 23 knots (26 mph) was recorded.
Fog
Mist and sea fog occurred at times through the morning and afternoon of the 11th.
Statistics for April 2023
| Reporting Station | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Malaga Airport | 34.3* | 6.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Malaga Harbour | 32.5 | 11.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Fuengirola | n/a | n/a | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Granada Airport | 36.9* | 1.4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Almeria | 28.1 | 10.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1 |
| Seville | 36.9* | 7.3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Cordoba | 38.8* | 4.1 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | 36.7* | 4.6 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Murcia | 35.5* | 7.3 | 8 | 5 | 2 |
- New record
Climatology for April (until 2022)
| Reporting Station | Extreme High Temp | Extreme Low Temp | Average Rain (mm) | Extreme Wettest day (mm) | Average Rain days |
| Malaga Airport | 33.1 | 2.8 | 41 | 47 | 5 |
| Granada Airport | 32.7 | -3.0 | 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 | 87 | 4 |