Weather in Malaga – December 2018

The average maximum temperature during December 2018 in Malaga was 18.6 Celsius (65F), and that was 1.4 Celsius (2.5F) above normal for the time of year.  The average minimum temperature was 10.1 Celsius (50F), and that was 0.1 Celsius (0.2F) below normal for December.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was  22.2 Celsius (72F) on the 4th. and unusually, this was higher than any temperature recorded during November. There were 6 other days when the temperature rose above 20 Celsius (68F), but only 2 of these warmer days occurred after mid month. On most days (18) maxima were between 17 and 20 Celsius (63-68F), but there were 7 occasions when the temperature failed to reach 17 Celsius (63F). On 4 days during the last week of December the temperature stayed below 17 Celsius (63F), including the last 3 days of the month. However, only 1 of the cooler days had a high below 16 Celsius (61F). That was on the 14th, when a maximum of 15.4 Celsius (60F) was recorded.

There were no particularly mild night during December, but the temperature remained above 12 Celsius (54F) on 8 occasions. Only 2 of these milder nights occurred after mid months. On 3 nights, the 2nd, 3rd and 12th, minima were above 13 Celsius (55F). The mildest night was the 12th with a low of 13.6 Celsius (56F). The coolest nights were all towards the end of the month, with no nights with minima below 9 Celsius (48F) before the 20th, but with 8 nights having minimum temperatures below 9 Celsius (48F) after the 20th. There were 4 consecutive nights, beginning on the 22nd, with minima below 7 Celsius (45F), including the 23rd, when a low of 6.2 Celsius (43F) was measured, making it the coolest night of the month.

The sea temperature was around 15 or 16 Celsius (59-61F) throughout the month.

There were only 2.8 millimetres (0.1 ins.) of rain during December, and that was only 4% of the average for the month. Measurable rain fell on just 1 day, and that was 5 days below the monthly average. Showery bursts of rain on  the 13th gave the only significant rain of the month, but there was a little rain mid morning on the 19th, but not enough to measure.

Thunder

There was no thunder heard in west Malaga during December.

December was an anticyclonic month, but even with high pressure close by, it was often quite breezy. On the majority of days (26) a northwesterly wind prevailed, but there were fairly weak ‘levanter’, east to southeasterly winds, at the end of the month. On 5 occasions there were gusts in excess of 20 knots (23 mph), including a gust of 31 knots (35 mph) on the 13th.

There was misty low cloud on the evening of the 6th, and mist and sea fog was observed through much of the 7th, although the mist was thin enough in the afternoon to allow some sunshine to break through.

Reporting Station	Highest Temp	Lowest Temp	Rain Total (mm)	Wettest	Rain days
Malaga Airport	23.0	3.7	2	2	1
Granada Airport	22.7	-2.8	8	8	1
Almeria	22.9	7.0	6	6	1
Seville	23.4	4.2	10	5	3
Cordoba	23.8*	1.2	13	7	3
Jerez de la Frontera	24.7	1.8	9	5	3
Murcia	24.8	3.8	7	6	3

* Record high for December

Climatology for December

Reporting Station	Extreme High Temp	Extreme Low Temp	Average Rain (mm)	Extreme Wettest day (mm)	Average Rain days
Malaga Airport	24.6	-0.8	88	133	6
Granada Airport	24.5	-9.2	53	42	7
Almeria	29.2	2.0	23	48	3
Seville	24.5	-4.8	95	81	8
Cordoba	23.8	-7.8	85	120	6
Jerez de la Frontera	26.8	-5.4	89	101	8
Murcia	25.8	-6.0	21	43	4