The average maximum temperature during April 2008 in Malaga was 21 Celsius (70F), and that was about normal for the time of year. The average minimum was 13 Celsius (55F), almost 1 Celsius (1.8F.) above normal.
The highest temperature recorded during the month was 24.9 Celsius (77F) on both the 28th and 29th. This was lower than the highest temperature recorded during March. There were only 4 other days when the temperature exceeded 23 Celsius (73F) with none of these occurring during the first 3 weeks. There were 8 days when the daily maximum remained below 20 Celsius (68F), all of these occurring during the first 3 weeks. The coldest day of the month was the 19th with a high of just 16.8 Celsius (62F). The 8th was only a fraction of a degree less cold.
There were no outstandingly warm nights during April, but on the night of the 8th/9th the minimum temperature was 16.1 Celsius (61F), and on the following night it was only a fraction of a degree cooler. On both the 23rd and 29th overnight lows were close to 16 Celsius (61F). There were only 2 nights with minima below 10 Celsius (50F), and on the night of the 3rd/4th the low was 8.5 Celsius (48F).
Sea temperatures were around 16 Celsius (61F) early in the month, rising to close on 18 Celsius (64F) by the last day of April.
Rain
There were just over 37 millimetres (1.5 inches) of rain during April, and that was only slightly below the long-term average for the month. Rain fell on 8 days during the month, and that's 3 more than average. The unsettled weather was divided into 2 spells of 4 days each. On the 7th, showery rain, heavy at times, occurred during the afternoon. On the 8th, there was a little light rain mid morning but the afternoon and evening were dull with steady fairly heavy rain. On the 9th, there was a little rain overnight, followed by showery rain, heavy at times, in the afternoon, with a further burst of heavy rain during the evening. On the 10th, there were thundery showers in the morning, and further lighter showers during the afternoon and early evening.
The second batch of changeable weather commenced on the 17th. Rain fell before dawn and there were further spells of mostly light rain during the morning. The 18th was similar, but the rain around mid morning was heavy, and unlike on the 17th, the afternoon became fairly sunny. On the 19th, it rained for much of the day, although there was a dry interlude during the afternoon. The rain persisted into the early hours of the 20th, and during the afternoon and evening there were several sharp showers.
There were some remarkable rainfall readings across other parts of southern Spain during April. Most places east of Malaga had a very dry month, but some extremely heavy rain occurred. In Seville, around 84mm (3.3in) occurred in 72 hours between the 7th and 9th; with another 60mm (2.4in) in 72 hours from the 17th to the 19th. In Cordoba, around 84mm (3.3in) fell in 24 hours on the 8th, but at Jerez, an incredible 208mm (8.2in) of rain fell in 48 hours on the 8th/9th including 82mm (3.2in) in one hour during the late afternoon of the 8th. The Table below shows the contrasts in rainfall across southern Spain.
Reporting Station
Total in mm.
as a %
Rain Days (Av.)
Malaga Airport
58
141
8 (5)
Granada Airport
41
108
8 (7)
Almeria
2
20
2 (3)
Seville
169
296
9 (7)
Cordoba
176
289
10 (8)
Jerez de la Frontera
248
459
10 (6)
Murcia
3
6
3 (4)
Thunder
Thunder occurred in Malaga around mid evening on the 9th, with a moderate thunderstorm mid morning on the 10th. Another storm occurred west of Malaga on the evening of the 20th.
Wind
The wind element of the weather station has been disconnected until the cause of the erroneous readings can be found.
