Much needed Rain and Rather Cool Days
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during May 2023 in Malaga was 23.6 Celsius (74F), and that was 0.4 Celsius (<1F) below normal for the time of year. Surprisingly, it was a similar value in April.The average minimum temperature was 16.7 Celsius (62F), and that was 0.5 Celsius (<1 F) above normal for May.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 30.5 Celsius (87F) on the 15th, but 28.4 Celsius (83F) was recorded on both the 9th and 10th, and 27.2 Celsius (81F) occurred on the 29th. A further 4 days had maximum above 25 Celsius (77F). On most days (20) the maximum temperature ranged between 20 and 25 Celsius (68-77F), but there were a couple of cooler days. On the 21st, a maximum of 18.7 Celsius (66F) occurred, but on the 22nd, the temperature only rose to 17.6 Celsius (64F).
No exceptionally mild nights occurred in May, but a low of 20.4 Celsius (68F) occurred on the 10th, and 20.2 Celsius (68F) was recorded on the 7th. Minima of 19.7 Celsius (67F) and 19.1 (66F) were logged on the 16th and 30th respectively, and another 4 nights had lows above 18 Celsius (64F). On most nights (21) minimum temperatures were in the range 14 to 18 Celsius (57-64F), but there were 2 exceptions. On the 22nd, a low of 13.7 Celsius (57F) occurred, but the coolest night of the month was the 19th with a low of 12.7 Celsius (55F).
The sea temperature ranged between 17 and 20 Celsius (63-68F) , with the lowest values occurring at the beginning and end of the month.
Rain
A total of 41.2 millimetres (1.6 ins.) of rain fell in May, and that was almost double the monthly average. Rain fell on 7 days, which was 3 days above average. The first 17 days of May were dry, but on the 18th, afternoon showers produced 10.8 millimetres (0.4 ins.). This was the first measurable rain in west Malaga since 7th March (71 days). The weather stayed unsettled until the 28th with showers or longer spells of rain occurring, although the 20th, 25th and 26th stayed dry, and the rain on the 28th was not enough to measure. Individual daily rainfall totals were not especially high, but 7 millimetres (0.3 ins.) fell on the 19th, with 9.2 millimetres (0.36 ins.) on the 21st, another 7.8 millimetres (0.3 ins.) on the 22nd, and 5.4 millimetres (0.2 ins.) on the 27th. Other parts of Malaga generally had higher totals than these, but everywhere the rain was warmly welcomed.
Thunder
There was thunder heard in Malaga on 7 separate days during May. The first episode lasted for 2 hours on the afternoon of the 18th, followed by an hour of thunderstorms early in the evening on the 19th. On the 20th, a rumble of thunder was heard towards the northwest late in the afternoon, but no rain was observed, and occasional thunder occurred from mid morning until lunchtime on the 21st. After a 4-day break, thunderstorms broke out late on the evening of the 26th, these lasting into the early hours of the 27th. The last thunder occurred late in the afternoon of the 28th in association with a very light shower.
Wind
As is common at this time of year, the sea breeze from the southeast, and the land breeze from the northwest, compete for dominance. In 2023, northwesterlies were dominant on 16 days, with southeasterlies dominating on 15 days. On many days the winds were quite light, but as usual there were exceptions. On 7 days, there were gusts in excess of 20 knots (23 mph) On 3 of these days, the gusts were associated with thunderstorms or heavy rain, with 27 knots (31 mph), 28 knots (32 mph) and 26 knots (30 mph) recorded on the 18th, 19th and 22nd respectively. A wind from the sea produced a gust of 33 knots (38 mph) on the 13th, followed by a strong warm land breeze on the 15th, with a gust of 29 knots (33 mph) recorded. However, the strangest gust of all occurred at 0610 local time on the 10th. After a very warm night with moderate or fresh northwest winds and temperatures holding up around 24 or 25 Celsius (75-77F), a sudden reversal of the wind occurred between 0605 and 0610 to east-southeast, the temperature fell 3 degrees Celsius (5F) and the pressure rose 1 mb. A gust of 34 knots (39 mph), a record for May, accompanied the change. A short time later, a similar event occurred at Malaga Airport, and within an hour Fuengirola experienced a similar wind change. There were no thunderstorms anywhere close by, nor had there been earlier. This type of feature could have proved to be highly dangerous to aviation, but fortunately no aircraft problems were reported from Malaga Airport. Apart from rearranged garden furniture, there were no known issues in this part of west Malaga.
Fog
Mist and sea fog occurred at times through the morning and afternoon of the 1st.
Statistics for May 2023
| Reporting Station | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Malaga Airport | 32.0 | 11.7 | 65 | 21 | 8 |
| Malaga Harbour | 30.0 | 13.5 | 79 | 23 | 7 |
| Fuengirola | n/a | n/a | 32 | 18 | 5 |
| Granada Airport | 34.2 | 6.6 | 36 | 11 | 10 |
| Almeria | 29.6 | 13.5 | 79 | 51* | 5 |
| Seville | 35.9 | 12.4 | 56 | 15 | 6 |
| Cordoba | 36.1 | 9.6 | 51 | 13 | 8 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | 34.7 | 9.1 | 21 | 7 | 5 |
| Murcia | 34.1 | 10.5 | 90 | 25 | 14 |
- * New record
Climatology for May
| Reporting Station | Extreme High Temp | Extreme Low Temp | Average Rain (mm) | Extreme Wettest day (mm) | Average Rain days |
| Malaga Airport | 35.6 | 5.0 | 25 | 44 | 3 |
| Granada Airport | 39.4 | -0.2 | 28 | 57 | 4 |
| Almeria | 36.3 | 8.4 | 14 | 51* | 2 |
| Seville | 41.0 | 3.8 | 34 | 45 | 4 |
| Cordoba | 40.6 | 2.4 | 34 | 44 | 5 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | 38.2 | 5.0 | 37 | 74 | 4 |
| Murcia | 38.5 | 5.0 | 32 | 35 | 4 |
- *New record this year