Weather and climate in the island Madeira

There are many islands of eternal spring time; Madeira is one of them. Those who drive through the island in the summer or in the winter time, will enjoy specially in the upcountry luscious green plants and colourful flowers far and wide. Madeira has a very humid climate, so that all kinds of plants rocket upwards during the whole year. Not all vacationers can cope with such a humid climate; There is indeed no tropical humidity yet, but during the whole year, the air humidity is significantly higher than in the home country. Those who are in a hiking tour sooner feel to be in a wet sweat, even if the temperatures don't seem to be high; then it is good to have some shirts for replacement.

Let us glance at the adjoining table with the average temperatures during the day and the night time. By comparing this graphic with the ones of other islands, it is noticeable that the monthly bars are very small. While in the Balearic Islands the temperatures vary between day and night for around ten degrees, in the island Madeira, the thermometer barely ascends from 3 to 5 °C. Of course, these are average values; the single highest values of the day or the lowst value of the night can be higher and/or lower. For the travellers it is important to know that in Madeira, the weather is very balanced during the whole year and also between day and night. By watching the temperatures it is also noticeable that for seaside vacationers, only the months from april up to November are interesting. Madeira is indeed a Place of holiday during the whole year, but in the winter time, Madeira is rather a hiking island than a bathing island. This is also noticeable in the water temperatures: only between June and November the sea temperature is from 20°C upwards; indeed, hart-boiled swimmers also get into the water with a temperature below 20°C, but then for the typical seaside family vacationers, option of bathing in the pool dominates.

In Madeira, also trade winds blow (explanation to this is readable in my page North east trade wind - Canarian Islands). This means that the winds come from the north east and release their humidity in the north east slopes as rainfalls. Madeira is an island with a high content of water, a thing that is not only noticeable during hiking alongside the Levadas. Specially in the winter months, one should always take a rain coat to the hiking tours. But the real stronf rainfalls mainly occur in the upcountry of the island. The south of the island is mainly spared from rainfalls, as the trade winds release the humidity in the north east. But during the winter time, it can also happen in the south that there are copious rainfalls. Basically, during the winter months one has better chances to get sunshine and a blue sky by having an accomodation in the south of the island.

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Copyright: Patrick Wagner, www.tourist-guide.biz