Weather in Malaga – September 2016

The average maximum temperature during September 2016 in Malaga was 27.6 Celsius (82F), and that was 0.7 Celsius (1.5F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 20.4 Celsius (68F), and that was 0.2 Celsius (0.5F) above the normal September value.

The highest temperature recorded during the month was 33.2 Celsius (92F) on the 5th, but the temperature also rose above 30 Celsius (86F) on the 4th, 6th and 12th. On most days during the first half of September maximum temperatures were between 27 and 29 Celsius (81-84F), but after mid month highs were generally between 25 and 28 Celsius (77-82F). There were no particularly cool days in September, but on 3 occasions, the 20th, 23rd and 29th, temperatures stayed below 25 Celsius (77F). There was only 1 day when the maximum was below 24 Celsius (75F), and that was the 29th when a persistent wind of the sea restricted the temperature high to 23.3 Celsius (74F).

Across inland parts of southern Spain September temperature records were widely smashed. In Granada, the temperature rose to 43.1 Celsius (110F) on the 6th, beating the previous record of 41.6 Celsius (107F) on the 2nd 2014. In both Jerez and Murcia highs of 44.6 Celsius (112F) were recorded on the 5th, beating previous records of 41.0 Celsius (106F), and 39.8 Celsius (104F),  respectively, these both occurring on the 7th 1988. In Seville, a high of 44.8 Celsius (113F) on the 5th beat the 42.6 Celsius recorded on the 7th September 1988, and finally, the high of 45.4 Celsius (114F) on the 6th, after a high of 45.1 Celsius (113F) on the 5th, erased the previous record of 43.8 Celsius (111F) also measured on the 7th September 1988.

The high humidity and uncomfortably warm nights continued into the early Autumn and minimum temperatures were above 20 Celsius (68F) on each of the first 13 nights of the month. During the first week, each night had minima above 22 Celsius (72F), including 3 nights, the 1st,2nd and 6th, when lows of 24.2 Celsius (76F) were recorded. After the 13th, only 1 night, the 26th/27th, had a low above 20 Celsius (68F), and then only 20.3 Celsius (68F) was recorded. There were no especially cool nights after mid month; generally minima were between 17 and 19 Celsius (63-66F), but on 1 night, the 16th/17th, a temperature dip below 17 Celsius (63F) occurred and a low of 16.6 Celsius (62F) was measured.

The sea temperature was 25 or 26 Celsius (77-79F) throughout the first 13 days of September but a dramatic drop to 18 or 19 Celsius (64-66F) occurred at the beginning of the third week. For the rest of the month, the sea temperature hovered around 19 Celsius (66F), although during the last few days of a September a rise to 20 or 21 Celsius (68-70F) occurred.

There were 2.5 millimetres (0.1 ins.) of rain during September, and that was only 8% of average. It was the driest September since 2011. There was only 1 day of measurable rain and that was 3 days below the monthly average. The 13th was the only day that troubled the rain-gauge. A total of 2.5 millimetres (0.1 ins.) fell late in the afternoon and early in the evening, making it the wettest day since the 12th May and the first measurable rain since the 28th May, a dry spell of 107 days! A little rain fell overnight on the 18th/19th, but not enough to measure, and the rest of the month stayed dry.

There were no reports of thunder in this part of west Malaga during September.

The wind pattern was typical for a Summer month early in September, with light northwesterly land breezes being replaced by gentle afternoon southeasterly sea breezes. However, the northwesterly breeze became more persistent for a few days after the rain occurred, before reverting to a Summer-like pattern at the end of the third week. The last 2 days of the month brought fresh east to southeasterly winds and these were accompanied for a while by very rough seas and large waves. There were only 3 days when gusts exceeded 20 knots (23 mph). The 14th had a northwesterly gust of 21 knots (24 mph), but the 29th and 30th hasd gusts from between east and southeast, with the highest gust of 26 knots (30 mph) occurring on the 29th.

There was no fog observed in west Malaga during September.

Reporting Station	Highest Temp	Lowest Temp	Rain Total (mm)	Wettest	Rain days
Malaga Airport	34.5	15.4	2	2	1
Granada Airport	43.1	6.8	0	0	0
Almeria	35.8	17.3	0.3	0.3	1
Seville	44.8	13.4	12	12	1
Cordoba	45.4	10.6	3	3	1
Jerez de la Frontera	44.6	10.6	3	3	1
Murcia	44.6	14.5	20	20	2

Climatology for September

Reporting Station	Extreme High Temp	Extreme Low Temp	Average Rain (mm)	Extreme Wettest day (mm)	Average Rain days
Malaga Airport	40.0	10.2	16	313	2
Granada Airport	43.1*	3.6	16	35	2
Almeria	36.0	12.6	12	98	1
Seville	44.8*	8.6	23	69	2
Cordoba	45.4*	6.0	24	66	2
Jerez de la Frontera	44.6*	7.0	22	95	2
Murcia	44.6*	9.6	27	61	2