Malaga Weather Blog

There were a few clouds to alleviate the boredom this morning, otherwise it’s another sunny and very warm day. Okay, so that sounds good, but it isn’t! The relative humidity at this time of year is unpleasantly high, and without air conditioning it’s a battle against perspiration day and night. In the weather fraternity the dew point is the usual indicator to gauge humidity. The definition of dew point (according to Wikipedia) is ‘the temperature to which a given parcel of air must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for water vapour to condense into water.’ This is a fairly easy concept to grasp, but the actually ‘feel’ of high dew points is more difficult to explain. In Holland, or Scotland, or Sweden, a summer dew point of 18 combined with a dry bulb (regular temperature) of 28 Celsius would be regarded by the locals as a hot day. Night-time temperatures in these situations often fall to 18 or 19 and there are still moans from those that feel uncomfortably warm in their homes at night. In Malaga, recent day-time temperatures of 29 to 31 Celsius have been accompanied by dew points around 22 Celsius. Night temperatures have been between 22 and 25 Celsius. Still, it could be worse. In Goa, dew points at this time of year are around 24 or 25 Celsius with day-time temperatures of 30 Celsius only falling to 25 or 26. In Dubai, it’s far worse. The dew points are around 24 Celsius but daily highs are near 42! At least our very hot days are usually accompanied by low dew points, and, for sure, in a month’s time temperatures will be at their very best …..and the sea will still be warm!

The sea breeze is in again, and it’s quite cooling at the moment with the temperature hovering around 22 Celsius. A few hours ago there was not a breath of wind and the thermometer was showing 28 Celsius. That’s okay. The forecast is not seriously wrong when the temperature briefly rises above the projected maximum around the changeover from land breeze to sea breeze, but when it flips in the evening, well that’s a different matter. Looking at the graph above (here a few days ago!) you can imagine the scenario. Tourists sitting outside the bar having  pre-dinner drinks, feeling slightly chilly after a day on the beach, when suddenly this blast of hot air arrives. Back to the hotel room for some cooler attire and then off to find an air-conditioned restaurant. The air in the restaurant cools rapidly in response to the surge of  hot air and the shivering tourists drink their soup that’s quickly becoming  gazpacho. Meanwhile outside, the canny Spanish, always the last to eat during the evening,  are settling in their seats as the temperature falls from 30 to a shade above 20, the perfect weather for al fresco eating. That’s Malaga for you.

While northern Europe shivers, we have had our own version of wild weather. Not only was yesterday (1st February) one of the wettest ever February days (over 77mm of rain on the coast in Malaga), there were also some violent storms.

The 15UTC infra-red satellite imagery on the left (copyright 2009 EUMETSAT) shows a markedly curved cloud structure over southwest Spain. Ahead of, and within, this band there are intense convective clouds. Several violent thunderstorms, were observed as this trough passed eastwards including an alleged tornado in Estepona.

The 20UTC infra-red satellite imagery on the left (copyright 2009 EUMETSAT) shows the trough further east, but less marked, but with vigorous convection approaching Malaga. A further group of storm clouds are heading for Algeciras, and even within the clearer air south of Portugal there are further shower clouds.

The question is, were the damaging winds in Estepona and Malaga tornadoes? or were they violent downdraughts associated with very potent cumulonimbus clouds. Certainly the two events were not directly connected. The damaging wind in Estepona would have passed to the north of Malaga. In either case, it is not a weather event that we want to see repeated. Where are those warm and sunny days that precede the opening of the almond blossom?

Autumn is normally the wettest time of the year in this part of the world, and typically around 150mm of rain can be expected in the Malaga area. In 1997, over 200mm of rain fell and in 2001 the figure was nearer 300mm. However, this Autumn has seen a total well in excess of 300mm, boosted, of course, by the 109mm that fell on the last day of October. 

http://www.malaga-weather.com/article.694.html)

The rain has fallen at fairly regular intervals, and this has led to a remarkable greening of the country landscape. An abundance of wild flowers can be seen in every field and a lush carpet of grass underlies the olive trees. The ripe citrus fruits add to the splendidly colourful panorama. Long may it last!