January

This month, along with February, is the coldest month in Malaga. What we mean about cold here is 8ºC / 46ºF. It doesn’t snow in Malaga city but, even with those temperatures, they are one of the warmest weathers in Spain, as well as in Europe. Nights are that cold but days get maximum temperatures of 17ºC/63ºF.

Normally locals get out from their homes early in the morning all wrapped up. Then as the day goes by they take off some layers of clothes but always with their coats, pullover, etc. at close hand, so when night comes it gets chillier and they put back again their clothes. Our suggestion is that, if you visit Malaga in wintertime, stay at the center of the city, so you can always pick up or leave some clothes depending the time of the day. By the way, in January we only expect 5 days of rain.

February

Although still is winter, and minimum temperatures stay as in January, days get longer, the sun hits a bit harder and maximum temperatures increase a little to 18ºC/64ºF.  If you feel encouraged by the sun and feel like swimming in the sea, we have to warn you that sea temperature in Malaga is normally cooler than on the rest of the Mediterranean sea. Currents coming from the Atlantic Ocean, right from the strait of Gibraltar, cool down our sea water. February has in fact the coldest sea temperature of the year, 13ºC/55ºF. Even though, you can always find some northern Europeans having a swim occasionally (surely, you won’t find any local!).

This month has an average of 4 rainy days. There is plenty of sunshine that makes it feel like 23ºC/74ºF at day time. If you are planning to walk and do some  Malaga sightseeing, we suggest you to still bring your winter clothes for the late afternoon, as once the sun sets, the sensation of the temperature drop is noticeable.

March

Here Malaga weather starts to unfold all its goodness. We love March as spring is starting. You can feel it in the air as the perfume of the orange blossom invades the city, and flowers start to bloom. Days get longer and once we move an hour forward at the end of the month, sunset gets later and Malaga beaches are getting their first visitors. Rain remains as in February, only 4 days, and temperatures rise, with minimums of 9ºC/48ºF and maximums of 19ºC/66ºF.

April

Winter is officially over. Forget your winter clothes, summer is around the corner. Malaga weather could be actually split in two seasons, more than four. The coldest period is from mid-November to mid-March and then the rest of the year is quite warm and nice. Actually, a good day in April makes locals start their beach season. Temperatures increase (minimum 11ºC / 52ºF – maximum 21º / 70ºF) and still only 4 days of rain. Sometimes you can even go out at night time wearing just a shirt.

May

This is one of our favorite months, along with October. Temperatures are ideal (minimum 14ºC / 57ºF – maximum 24º / 75ºF) and we normally have 3 rainy days this month. It is the perfect time for tourism and enjoy the city. Flowers have blossomed and you can enjoy the nice purple jacarandas all over town. Maybe this is why this is the peak season for cruise ships and also for our tours, as we welcome many cruise passengers who visit Malaga. Still sea temperature is still cold, 15ºC/59ºF, but we have many brave visitors who take a dip.

June

Another month perfect for sightseeing. We still don’t get the high temperatures as in July and August, so walking around the city is very pleasant. We have a say in Spain which is perfectly applicable to Malaga weather. “Hasta el 40 de mayo no te quites el sayo”, which means that before the 10th of June, you still need to carry some clothes to warm you. From then onwards, summer clothes are all you need (T-shirts, shorts, sandals…) Beaches get more a more crowded but the big difference is from around 20th of June, when children and teenagers get their holidays and Spanish families flee to the beach until September. Rain period is over (it may rain one day in the whole month) and temperature goes from 18ºC / 64ºF to 28ºC / 82ºF.

July

July and August are hot. If you are planning to visit Malaga these months, beware of carrying water, a hat and sunscreen. Temperatures vary from 20ºC / 68ºF to 30ºC / 86ºF but happens the same as in wintertime. Day temperatures at direct sunlight makes you feel like hotter, sometimes even 40ºC/104ºF.

But even if that sounds a lot, still is fine to visit Malaga these days. You just need to avoid the central hours of the day under the sun (you can visit a museum or cool at the beach), and night walks are delicious, with sea breeze that makes it all much more bearable. Anyway, we can affirm that Malaga weather is one of the best to spend summer in Spain. At the North of Spain, you will find cooler temperatures but still have lots of rain. In the center and south of the Iberian peninsula, the heat is hard to stand. Inner cities like Granada, Cordoba or Seville get even hotter (they beat the highest temperatures in Europe every year, having registered to 48ºC / 118ºF). As Malaga is a coastal city, she can boast of having a much more manageable climate.

August

Pretty much the same as in July, but there is something you need to know about the local weather in summer months. We have a special weather phenomenon called “terral“. This is the time when a hot wind comes from the mountains. The wind is hot and the atmosphere turns very dry. Thankfully this is an occasional thing, maybe we can have 3 days of this on each summer month. This phenomena is also called “poniente” at the rest of the province.

The “terral” or “poniente” has also a big influence on beach conditions. Waves are coming from the west, bringing cold water from the Atlantic ocean. The sea temperature can drop to 13ºC/55ºF, the water gets totally transparent and the wind rises the sand, turning a day at the beach into a hard work. In fact, the days with “terral” or “poniente” you won’t find any locals there.

The rest of the month, weather conditions are better and quite different. We have “levante” which is a wind coming from the east. This is much cooler and also brings a lot of humidity. This is the time to go to the beach. The sea currents have changed, water turns a bit murky and the sea temperature can rise to some pleasant 25ºC / 77º C. It is very easy to distinguish one from the other. You just need to look at the sea and watch the direction of the waves. From the east is “levante” (good) and from the west we have “terral” or “poniente” (bad).

September

Still summertime but less crowded beaches and lower temperatures (minimum 19ºC / 66ºF to maximum 28ºC / 82ºF). Still not a chance of rain, maybe one day, and it is very likely that we won’t have the “terral” until next summer. This is also a very pleasant time to enjoy the city and cruise ships start again to land frequently. At mid September, Spaniards come back to their homes, children start school and prices also get cheaper. This, along with October, is another perfect time to visit Malaga and do one of our tours.

October

As we said before, this is another of our favorite months to spend in Malaga. It has finally rained (at this month only 4 days!), the atmosphere is clean and visibility gets to its best. If you want some panoramic views, this is the time. Temperature is perfect (minimum 15ºC / 59ºF to maximum 24ºC / 75ºF). You still don’t need to carry heavy winter clothes as they already are in the rest of Europe. Last beach days for Spaniards, but not for our visitors! Malaga autumn/winter could be as a North European summer, this is why we have a big colony of Swedes, Norwegians and Danish.

November

After the winter change-of-hour at the end of October, sunset gets sooner and days get shorter. This is the rainiest month of the year, with only just 5 days. One thing we should warn you about is the rain in Malaga. Rain here is normally heavy, not just a few raindrops. From time to time we have a day where it gets specially serious. We may get some flooding, maybe some tree branches fall off, and that is the only day you can see our river Guadalmedina full of water. Christmas lights are getting ready but the weather still doesn’t make you feel like that. We still have minimums of 11ºC / 52ºF and maximums of 20ºC / 68ºF.

December

We go back to the beginning as the weather in December is very close to the one in January. Minimum temperatures are a bit higher (9ºC / 48ºF) , maximum the same, but as we said before, at midday you can reach nice temperatures. You can actually see it in the people’s clothes on the picture above. We have 5 days of rain this month and this is when we mostly say “the weather has changed”. Leaves start falling although many of our trees are evergreen.

We told you it never snows in Malaga. That is not totally true. Under some circumstances, it actually can. But the last time it snowed was in 1954, for just a couple of hours. People went like crazy taking pictures and enjoying the scenery before snow melted.

Until here the Malaga weather info. If you want to enjoy Malaga any time of the year, why don’t you take a tour with us? We offer the best tours in town with local and professional guides. Click here to get more info about our tours, or contact us to get more information about Malaga weather or any other issue. We’ll be glad to hear from you!