The comparison
Rainfall during January this year was useful for replenishing the depleted reservoirs, although the erratic  nature of the showery rain that occurred probably meant that some parts of Andalucia had monthly totals that fell well short of the average.
The last 2 Januaries (2004 and 2005) were exceptionally dry,  with Malaga Airport having less than 3 mm (0.1 ins) during each of these months.
Prior to that,  January had variable, but generally below average, rainfall amounts dating back to 1997.
In that year,  however, there were 280 mm (11 ins) of rain, with 152 mm (6 ins) falling in just 4 days early in the month. 
This large total,  surprisingly, was lower than in the previous January (1996)  when a massive 307 mm (12.1 ins) of rain fell, this is the equivalent of 6 months rainfall for cities such as Stockholm, Berlin and London.   In just 3 days, from 21st to 23rd , there were 153 mm (6 ins) of rain.  

The rain this January
Only small amounts of rain fell during the first 2 weeks but salt-laden southeast winds, brought some rain towards the end of the 2nd week, culminating in 14.5 mm (0.57 ins) on the 16th.
Dry weather then predominated until the 27th when an active weather system spread east from Atlantic and produced some heavy, thundery rain.
In the 24 hours ending at 9 UTC on the 28th, 48 mm (1.9 ins) of rain fell on Malaga beach before sunny skies spread from the west later in the day.

...and then the build-up to the snow
By midnight on the 28th the temperature on the beach in Malaga had fallen to 6 Celsius (43F) and values continued to fall slowly through the early hours of the morning of the 29th. The Satellite picture below depicts the infrared sequence of the cloud system that brought snow to parts of Andalucia on the morning of the 29th.
The first picture, 0300UTC, shows a broad band of cloud curving southwest from near Madrid towards Cadiz and then west,  just clearing the Portugese Algarve. This was a trough associated with a pool of cold air situated across central west Spain close to the Portugese border. It is easy to see the spiralling of the cloud around this vortex which slowly decayed in favour of another upper 'low' observed near Finisterre at 0300UTC and, formed a more vigorous centre, near Lisbon by 1200UTC. 
 

0300UTC 29th January  copyright 2006 EUMETSAT	0600UTC 29th January  copyright 2006 EUMETSAT
0900UTC 29th January  copyright 2006 EUMETSAT	1200UTC 29th January  copyright 2006 EUMETSAT

Wintry weather arrives
The first of the satellite pictures shows the cloud just arriving at Malaga at 0300UTC.
Temperatures across the City were about 5 Celsius but with dewpoints in the cold air down to minus 1 or minus 2 Celsius.
Meanwhile at Cordoba Airport  (90m AMSL) snow was beginning to fall and this continued until after 0700UTC.
The snow was fairly wet but briefly settled as the air temperature fell to 0.2 Celsius (32F).
By 0600UTC the area of snow had reached Granada. The higher ground in the area allowed a blanket of snow to settle widely.
At Granada Airport (567m AMSL) it snowed from 0600 to after 0730UTC with moderate snow reducing the visibility to 500 metres at times. The temperature throughout the snowfall was minus 3 to minus 4 Celsius (27-28F), so the consistency of the snow  was powdery, similar to that enjoyed by alpine skiers.
The other airport that serves Granada, Armilla (700m AMSL),  reported snow at 0700UTC with no wind, a visibility of just 200 metres, and a temperature of minus 4 (25F).
 
...and in Malaga
The first signs of precipitation in the Malaga area occurred between 0400 and 0500UTC but by 0800UTC it had ceased for the day.
Only 2 mm (0.08ins) of rain were measured and it was the fact that the precipitation was light (after having crossed the sierras) that probably prevented Malaga having more widespread snow.
Higher suburbs and hilly areas along the Costa del Sol, for example Mijas, had some sleet and wet snow, and there were some flakes of snow mixed in the rain closer  to sea level, a fact noted by those drivers taking an early morning trip from Malaga to Alora.

A near miss
Mid-morning temperatures of between 3 and 5 Celsius (37-41F) with values dipping close to 2Celsius (36F) in the odd burst of heavier precipitation, did allow many from the Malaga environs a rare glimpse of snowflakes, and on the high hills there was a good covering, but perhaps for those lovers of snow the event was rather disappointing.
Another trough moved down the western side of Iberia during the day  (seen on the satellite images for 0900 and 1200UTC) and this gave several hours of sleet and snow in Lisbon on the afternoon of the 29th, the heaviest for over 50 years. This depression continued south, and although associated with relatively cold air, the track ensured that the next fall of precipitation was rain.
The reason, southeasterly winds off the sea ahead of the depression with temperatures returning to double figures Celsius (50s F).
The cold snap on the Costa del Sol had ended. 

Malaga Weather Channel Copyright 2006