Weather in Malaga – January 2016

The average maximum temperature during January 2016 in Malaga was 18.8 Celsius (66F), and that was 2.1 Celsius (4F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 10.2 Celsius (50F), and that was 0.9 Celsius (2F) above the normal January value. Overall, it was the mildest January since records began in 2006.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 22.9 Celsius (73F) on the 4th, but it was almost as warm on the 8th when 22.7 Celsius (73F) was measured. There were no other days with values above 22 Celsius (72F), but 20 Celsius (68F) was exceeded on 5 other days. Only 2 of the warmer days occurred after mid month, but cool days were largely absent. There were only 3 days when the temperature failed to reach the long-term average. The 17th, with a high of 15.0 Celsius (59F) was the coolest of these days, with 15.7 Celsius (60F) and 16.0 Celsius (61F) being recorded on the 20th and 29th respectively.

There were no particularly  warm nights during January, but on 6 nights minima were above 12 Celsius (54F). The 3rd/4th had a minimum of 13.6 Celsius (57F), but the mildest night was the 10th/11th with a low of 14.9 Celsius (59F). Only 1 of these mildest 6 nights occurred after mid month, but additionally there were 11 other nights with minima between 10 and 12 Celsius (50-54F). There were no cold nights during January but on 4 nights minima fell below 8 Celsius (46F). The coolest night was the 16th/17th with a low of 6.7 Celsius (44F).

The sea temperature was around 16 Celsius (61F) at first, otherwise values remained at 14 or 15 Celsius (57-59F).

There were 65.8 millimetres (2.6 ins.) of rain measured during January and that was about  10%  above the average. It was the wettest January for 6 years. Significant rain (0.2 millimetres (0.01 ins.) or more) fell on 6 days and that was 2 days below average for the month. A few spots of rain fell on the 2nd, but not enough to measure. Light rain in the early hours of the 3rd was barely enough to measure with a total of just 0.3 millimetres (0.01 ins.)  On the 5th, rain at either end of the day was heavier and amounted to just over 5 millimetres (0.2 ins.).  Once again, early morning rain was responsible for the 7 millimetres (0.3 ins.) that fell on the 9th. Thereafter, it was dry until the 20th when early rain produced 1.5 millimetres (0.06 ins.). It then stay dry until the evening of the 29th when several hours of heavy rain gave 27.4  millimetres (1.1 ins.) on the 29th, plus another 23.9 millimetres (0.9 ins.) in the early hours of the 30th. The last day of the month was dry.

On the 29th a cold pool in the upper atmosphere became obvious from developing cloud structures over central and western Iberia. This cold pool intensified as it drifted slowly southeast and widespread thunderstorms broke out, especially between Fuengirola and Malaga where some spectacular thunder and lightning occurred between mid evening on the 29th and the early hours of the 30th. Some places had around 6 hours of thunder with little respite. Areas not too far to the north and east of Malaga missed the storms completely and remained dry.

On many days there was the seasonal balance between light or gentle northwesterly land breezes overnight and during the mornings, and weak east to southeasterly sea breezes during the afternoons. However, as is typical during the winter months, on several days the northwesterly breeze was stronger and persisted throughout the day. There were only 5 days when gusts exceeded 20 knots (23 mph), with the 5th proving to be the windiest day with a gust of 27 knots (31 mph) recorded.

No fog was observed in west Malaga during January.

Statistics for January 2016

Reporting Station	Highest Temp	Lowest Temp	Rain Total (mm)	Wettest	Rain days
Malaga Airport	24.1	5.3	47	38	4
Granada Airport	22.3	-3.9	18	9	8
Almeria	21.6	5.1	1	1	1
Seville	21.9	4.4	48	14	12
Cordoba	22.1	1.1	51	12	12
Jerez de la Frontera	22.4	1.6	31	7	10
Murcia	25.1	2.2	16	10	4

Climatology for January

Reporting Station	Extreme High Temp	Extreme Low Temp	Average Rain (mm)	Extreme Wettest day (mm)	Average Rain days
Malaga Airport	26.8	-2.6	81	121	6
Granada Airport	24.6	-14.2	41	36	6
Almeria	24.4	1.9	23	54	3
Seville	24.2	-4.4	65	66	6
Cordoba	22.9	-8.2	64	79	7
Jerez de la Frontera	25.3	-5.4	89	112	7
Murcia	25.8	-7.5	25	57	3