Weather in Malaga – January 2017

The average maximum temperature during January 2017 in Malaga was 16.9 Celsius (63F), and that was normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 8.7 Celsius (48F), and that was 0.7 Celsius (1F) below the normal January value. Overall, it was the coolest January for 6 years.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was  21.0 Celsius (70F) on the 5th, but there were only 2 other days when the temperature exceeded 20 Celsius (68F). On the 4th a high of 20.9 Celsius (70F) was recorded with 20.6 Celsius (69F) measured on the 11th. On many days (15), maximum temperatures were between 16 and 18 Celsius (61-64F), but during the middle of the third week there was a cold snap, and on 4 consecutive days the temperature failed to rise above 15 Celsius (59F). After a midnight temperature of 14 Celsius (57F) on the 18th, the temperature fell steadily during the rest of the night and failed to rise much above 6 Celsius (43F) during the day. Low relative humidity and a brisk breeze accentuated the cold, but the following day was little better. The maximum for the day was only 9.5 Celsius (49F), making it the coldest January day for 7 years. There were 2 more chilly days to follow but on the 22nd the temperature was up to average again with a high of 17.1 Celsius (63F). The cold weather was felt across the whole of southern Spain, with highs of only 5.5 Celsius (41F) at Granada and 5.2 Celsius (41F) at Murcia, both on the 19th.

There were no particularly mild nights during January, although on the 4th/5th a low of 13.6 Celsius (57F) was measured. There were only 7 other nights when the temperature stayed above 10 Celsius (50F), with only 1 of these nights, the 6th/7th with a low of 12.7 Celsius (55F), remaining above 12 Celsius (54F). On most nights (16) lowest temperatures were between 7 and 10 Celsius (45-50F), and although the minimum on 7 nights was below 7 Celsius (45F), only 3 of these nights had lows under 6 Celsius (43F). On the morning of 9th the temperature dipped to 5 Celsius (41F), with both the 18th and 19th registering 3.4 Celsius (38F).

The sea temperature varied little throughout the month with daily values between 14 and 15 Celsius (57-59F).

There were 20.0  millimetres (0.8 ins.) of rain during January, and that was nearly 70% below average. It was the driest January for 5 years. There were 5 days with measurable rain and that was 3 days below the monthly average. The first 17 days of the month were dry, but light showers occurred on the 18th, with occasional rain falling in the evening. The total for the day was only 1.5 millimetres (0.06 ins.), with showery rain in the morning adding another 2 millimetres (0.08 ins.) to the gauge on the following day. Light rain early on the 20th, barely troubled the statistics, and it then stayed dry until the 26th. On the evening of the 26th, there were 5.8 millimetres (0.2 ins.) of rain, and this rain continued overnight before petering out during the morning. However, the overnight fall of 10.4 millimetres (0.4 ins.) made the 27th the wettest day of the month, with no further rain during the remainder of January.

No thunder was observed in west Malaga during January.

The wind pattern through January followed a typical winter pattern with northwesterly land breezes dominant, and only the briefest of afternoon sea breezes on just a few days. The only days when winds from the east or southeast prevailed were the 1st, 6th and 7th,  but the 7th was the only one of these days when gusts exceeded 20 knots (23 mph). Although, there were a further 8 days when gusts exceeded 20 knots (23 mph), the highest gust was only 23 knots (26 mph). Remarkably,  the 23 knots occurred on 6 days, the 10th, 11th, 13th, 16th, 17th and 22nd.

There was no fog observed in west Malaga  during January.

Reporting Station	Highest Temp	Lowest Temp	Rain Total (mm)	Wettest	Rain days
Malaga Airport	21.6	2.9	13	10	2
Granada Airport	21.9	-5.0	5	5	1
Almeria	21.0	5.7	24	17	3
Seville	19.3	0.0	12	12	1
Cordoba	21.2	-2.5	13	13	1
Jerez de la Frontera	21.4	-2.7	19	19	1
Murcia	21.6	-1.1	49	43	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	59	3
Seville	24.2	-4.4	65	66	5
Cordoba	22.9	-8.4	64	79	7
Jerez de la Frontera	25.3	-5.4	89	112	7
Murcia	25.8	-7.5	25	76	3