# Winter in Spain - warning!!



## Pesky Wesky

There may be another thread with a similar title, but I just thought I'd get a thread going about winter here so that people have a chance to read about this myth that the Spain enjoys warm temperatures all year round.

It *doesn't*.

Parts of Spain experience warmer temperatures than most areas in the UK, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be *warm* - warmer perhaps, but I say perhaps and not for sure.

Things to look out for when thinking about temperatures/ the weather.

Think about the altitude of the place that you're looking at. The altitude affects the temperature and the kind of weather that you'll have considerably. Granada sells itself as being the place where you can ski in the morning and go to the beach in the afternoon and that's because of the different heights in the area.

How the house is built. Many houses, for what ever reason, are not well insulated, and/ or are built more for summer temperatures than winter so you need to think about how you will heat your home when the inevitable cold spell comes. It will certainly be warmer and last for a shorter period than the UK, but there will be one.

Clothes. Don't give away all your warm clothes. You may well need less and you will probably find that you will wear winter things for less time, but they will be needed from time to time. Don't think only about coats either. Houses can get incredibly cold inside, so you can find that you need to wear lots of layers in the living room and that you can peel them off when you go outside to the terrace.

Floods. Floods are quite frequent in certain places in Spain. Do not live too close to a dry river bed and find out about this before you buy a property. Look at this old thread to read about Jojo's flood experience
http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/40315-flooded-out.html
The Canaries often experience floods and a quick Google will confirm that

Finally, yes it does snow in Spain and there can be frost and ice on your windscreen in the morning. I think it's unusual in the south, but I live in the province of Madrid at 880m and we typically get snow and can have ice on the car Nov - March, but I have even known it to snow abundantly on Mothers Day - Spanish Mother's Day, which is the first Sunday in *May!!*


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## xabiaxica

well said

on the whole, Spain is a cold country which gets a lot of sun - but that sun isn't always shining, & on winter days when yes, you might be able to sit in it for an hour or so, it's freezing out of it!!


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## maxd

I hope you are not speaking about us down here in the Canary Islands?


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## Rabbitcat

We'll I sat in Torrox Pueblo main square last month and it was roasting. Could have got away with shorts- rarely get that weather in UK in March


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## Pesky Wesky

maxd said:


> I hope you are not speaking about us down here in the Canary Islands?


Yes, I am!
Weather in the Canary Islands is very, very good, but does not give guaranteed weather 365 days of the year which is what some people mistakenly think they will get. As I said in the first post, flooding is not uncommon in parts of the Canaries and even on the same island there can be quite big differences in typical weather.
Look at this search from La Opinion Tenerife
inundaciones: Resultados de inundaciones en laopinion.es


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## Pesky Wesky

Rabbitcat said:


> We'll I sat in Torrox Pueblo main square last month and it was roasting. Could have got away with shorts- rarely get that weather in UK in March


But, I am not implying that the weather in Spain isn't different to the weather in the UK! It's not a surprise that you'll be wearing shorts long before people living in the UK. Even I living in the Madrid area have been able to get the sun bed out before and during Easter. However, it has been raining today and yesterday _y bienvenida sea_
The thread is about winter in Spain and how most people in most parts of Spain will experience cold at some time. A concept that is quite often unknown by people coming to live here!


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## Rabbitcat

Of course there will be sun 365, its guaranteed and it says so in the small print on the back of your residency card, which incidentally you receive after 90 days as a taxpayer or 183 paying CGT in a RHD vehicle which has IBI..... I think


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## virgil

maxd said:


> I hope you are not speaking about us down here in the Canary Islands?


When we lived in Los Cristianos back in the noughty nineties, I used to have the patio doors open todo tiempo (when we were in)

I had a thermometer that would constantly read 23° (in winter).. I thought it was faulty so I bought a new one - which read the same.

Lovely climate. Here's 'my' beach:

Webcam: Playa de las Vistas in Los Cristianos | Los Cristianos, Teneriffa - Spanien


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## Pesky Wesky

Rabbitcat said:


> Of course there will be sun 365, its guaranteed and it says so in the small print on the back of your residency card, which incidentally you receive after 90 days as a taxpayer or 183 paying CGT in a RHD vehicle which has IBI..... I think


Don't start you!
PS Can you tell me why the people in my local Mercadona don't speak English? I think it's terribly rude of them to ty to make me understand Spanish...


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## maxd

Pesky Wesky said:


> Yes, I am!
> Weather in the Canary Islands is very, very good, but does not give guaranteed weather 365 days of the year which is what some people mistakenly think they will get. As I said in the first post, flooding is not uncommon in parts of the Canaries and even on the same island there can be quite big differences in typical weather.
> Look at this search from La Opinion Tenerife
> inundaciones: Resultados de inundaciones en laopinion.es


In the south we have an average 8 days rain a year, the north of the Island is 28 days but yeah when it rains it really rains.


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## angil

2nd winter on the Costa del Sol and it was even more gruesome than the first! Below freezing at one point! & I was back in my 80 denier tights and boots on Saturday night! 'Never cast a clout til May is out' is apparantly not just applicable to Northern Europe!? A bit warmer out there today but still had me chunky cardy on to walk the dog!


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## 213979

angil said:


> 2nd winter on the Costa del Sol and it was even more gruesome than the first! Below freezing at one point! & I was back in my 80 denier tights and boots on Saturday night! 'Never cast a clout til May is out' is apparantly not just applicable to Northern Europe!? A bit warmer out there today but still had me chunky cardy on to walk the dog!


I imagine you have the same saying in your area: here they say "hasta el 40 de mayo, no te quites el sayo." I still have my flannel sheets out just in case. 

The north can get quite cold, but there were days this winter when it was colder on the costas. It's great up here!


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## Lynn R

angil said:


> 2nd winter on the Costa del Sol and it was even more gruesome than the first! Below freezing at one point! & I was back in my 80 denier tights and boots on Saturday night! 'Never cast a clout til May is out' is apparantly not just applicable to Northern Europe!? A bit warmer out there today but still had me chunky cardy on to walk the dog!


Were you asleep for the two weeks of near 30C temperatures we had leading up to Easter, then?


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## Lolito

Well, I can sunbathe here any day of the year, as long as it is sunny, which to be honest, it is most days of the year. However it is not HOT. 

It hardly rain here, and when it does, we don't complain. 

Cold? Well, a jacket (light) will do in winter, never wore jumpers, scarves, gloves or wolly hats. I believe some people say it is 'hot' when you don't wear the above things in winter. 

I am from Pamplona, so I know what 'cold' means. Here in this part of Valencia, we have never experienced that sort of 'cold'. 

But I wouldn't say it is hot in the winter here, however, when my family came for Xmas from Pamplona, they thought this was the Caribbean.... pah! 

So I guess it all depends on what you call 'cold' and 'hot'....


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## Lynn R

Málaga, in fact, experienced the highest temperatures for 28 years this March:-


El calor bate un récord en Málaga con las mínimas más altas en 28 años - La OpiniÃ³n de MÃ¡laga


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## angil

Lynn R said:


> Were you asleep for the two weeks of near 30C temperatures we had leading up to Easter, then?


No hinny I wasn't! But I am assuming you did your best Rip Van Winkle impersonation last week when it hoyed down, was pitch black and bloomin cold last week! That was certainly a truer picture or what we have endured for months!The 2 weeks were a reminder that I wasn't in Newcastle and was, in fact, living on the Costa del Sol! After the long, nasty winter and the batch of flu bugs we have been plagued with for months it was very easy to forget just where we were!! I thought this post was about Winter in Spain? A fortnight of sunny weather in Spring!? Not really Winter in Spain is it?


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## angil

Lynn R said:


> Málaga, in fact, experienced the highest temperatures for 28 years this March:-
> 
> 
> El calor bate un récord en Málaga con las mínimas más altas en 28 años - La OpiniÃ³n de MÃ¡laga


Didn't I read it also experienced its coldest Winter on record?! March, again, is a Spring month.


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## Lynn R

angil said:


> No hinny I wasn't! But I am assuming you did your best Rip Van Winkle impersonation last week when it hoyed down, was pitch black and bloomin cold last week! That was certainly a truer picture or what we have endured for months!The 2 weeks were a reminder that I wasn't in Newcastle and was, in fact, living on the Costa del Sol! After the long, nasty winter and the batch of flu bugs we have been plagued with for months it was very easy to forget just where we were!! I thought this post was about Winter in Spain? A fortnight of sunny weather in Spring!? Not's really Winter in Spain is it?


I've said elsewhere the temperatures this year have on the whole been lower this winter, but a long nasty winter? Really? I don't call mid November to mid March a long winter. This year, for example, it did not sling it down all day long on Christmas Day, which it did the year before., but was nice and sunny. You will always, always get very mixed weather in Spain (or anywhere else in Southern Europe, why else would Greece, or Southern Italy, for example, not really have a tourism season in winter?) during the winter months, and anybody who expects otherwise is kidding themselves. It is neither invariably glorious nor unrelentingly horrible.


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## Lolito

Here in Valencia, I know you can start sunbathing and swimming (on beach) in April and right until mid November, been doing that for the last few years. Winter here is very short and sunny and spring hardly exists, we go straight to summer, lol!


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## Isobella

We spent a freezing winter in Valencia one March. Thick coat weather, except we didn't have one. You must be very hardy to sea swin in Apri.


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## angil

I stand corrected then! I will let my kids know they imagined shivering at the bus stop in the morning and coming in soaking wet and cold from school in the evening! My fur lined DM boots even came out this year! & we were layering up the way we did in the Korean winters, which dip well below zero (although bone dry). It has felt both long and nasty, in an apt not built for the cold with no central heating / underfloor heating and very draughty doors and windows. I don't think the weather has been particularly mixed other than 'your' 30 degree fortnight! Although as I have yet to shed my jeans I very much doubt it was that warm here! Atleast we have known what to wear; big coat & boots!


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## Gazeebo

Pesky Wesky said:


> But, I am not implying that the weather in Spain isn't different to the weather in the UK! It's not a surprise that you'll be wearing shorts long before people living in the UK. Even I living in the Madrid area have been able to get the sun bed out before and during Easter. However, it has been raining today and yesterday _y bienvenida sea_
> The thread is about winter in Spain and how most people in most parts of Spain will experience cold at some time. A concept that is quite often unknown by people coming to live here!



We were in Spain this February, it was cold and it had the audacity to rain for two or three days!!! We will be in Javea, Spain, from around October for about six months to experience the winter this year, before we buy a property. I will certainly be taking my winter warm clothes and be in a centrally heated property. By the way, are there more winter lets advertised after September or is now the best time to look?


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## Alcalaina

Well all I can say just coming out of my eighth winter here in SW Andalucia is that no two are ever the same. Every year some record is broken - the coldest March, the wettest January, the warmest December, etc. One year it rained almost incessantly for three months (Jan-Mar), but there's only been one Christmas Day when we didn't go to the beach.

When people ask when's the best time to come over for guaranteed winter sun I tell them it's pot luck from October to April. Check the forecast a week before then book a last minute flight!


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## Lolito

Spain is a big country, the weather differs greatly from one side of the country to another. It might be cold in the north and very hot in the south, .... or even the other way around, like just now! 

You can not compare the winter in Madrid, or Bilbao, or GAlicia with that of Valencia, Malaga or Cadiz.... 

Yes, you can go to Malaga for a week and it might rain, but that's not the norm. My neighbours just arrived from a week in London and they hated it, it was cold and rainy everyday and they were really pissed off. Having lived in London for 24 years, I can say it is not always like that, so it pisses me off when people think that in London it rains every day when it doesn't! 

Same goes for the south of Spain I suppose.


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## Tall Traveler

One point is that Spain is a large country and has significant variance between say Vallodolid and Marbella (where I own a duplex). Everyone has different ideas of what is frio and I for example am on the extreme end of a high tolerance for cool and less of a tolerance for hot. So Marbella winter to me, while it may get cool for a spell, is really pleasant and much more pleasant than where I live in USA where it can get -20 C and colder on occasion. But I do agree with the OP general comment that if people are expecting heat in the winter, they will likely be very disappointed.


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## jojo

For me the winters were a shock, not only the cold, but the extreme weather - the torrential rain that would cause major floods and landslides (we were literally trapped in our house for nearly a week one year). The high winds which would cause destruction............ Yes, there are some beautiful sunny days - tee shirt days, but once the sun goes down, it gets very cold.

And its now well documented that most houses arent built to protect from the cold. Lack of central heating, insulation and cold tiles everywhere makes them costly and difficult to heat. During the winter months, on a nice day, I would often go outside and sit in the sun just to warm up

Jo xxx


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## Alcalaina

jojo said:


> And its now well documented that most houses arent built to protect from the cold. Lack of central heating, insulation and cold tiles everywhere makes them costly and difficult to heat. During the winter months, on a nice day, I would often go outside and sit in the sun just to warm up
> 
> Jo xxx


The houses in the South are built to stay cool in summer. If they were well insulated, they would be suffocating in the hot months because the heat wouldn't be able to escape through the walls. As there are more hot months than cold ones, that makes sense.


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## jojo

Alcalaina said:


> The houses in the South are built to stay cool in summer. If they were well insulated, they would be suffocating in the hot months because the heat wouldn't be able to escape through the walls. As there are more hot months than cold ones, that makes sense.



Indeed!! Its a ***** in the winter tho lol

Jo xxx


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## Maureen47

I think when you have been in Spain a while you maybe get used to higher temperatures and when you think it is cold it would be very acceptable weather in the UK for example for the same time of ear. My sis in law who has been in the Valencia region for over ten yrs often comments on how cold it is when I am sat outside enjoying a bit of winter sun.


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## Tall Traveler

maureen47 said:


> I think when you have been in Spain a while you maybe get used to higher temperatures and when you think it is cold it would be very acceptable weather in the UK for example for the same time of ear. My sis in law who has been in the Valencia region for over ten yrs often comments on how cold it is when I am sat outside enjoying a bit of winter sun.


Yeah the body is amazingly adaptable. I worked in Mongolia and got accustomed to -40C and then later worked in Saudi and became accustomed to 55C...after ward, Thailand and Malaysia seemed moderate.


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## brocher

Alcalaina said:


> The houses in the South are built to stay cool in summer. If they were well insulated, they would be suffocating in the hot months because the heat wouldn't be able to escape through the walls. As there are more hot months than cold ones, that makes sense.


It doesn't really work that way. If the houses were better insulated, the heat wouldn't get in so much in the summer. Same principle as keeping doors and shutters closed to keep the heat out.

I think when many of you compare the Spanish weather to UK weather, you are thinking of what it is like in the South of England which is far cry from The North of Scotland! Here it is bloomin freezing all year round with harsh North Sea winds often casui g the temperature to feel much less than it really is- and that's pretty low in the first place. It's very, very rare for us to reach even 18- 20' - maybe one or two days per year. The only upside is that the location right on the sea means we don't get much snow or ice- although wind chill factor makes it feel very icy!

Yesterday the temp was 6' but wind chill made it feel like minus one, and that's Met Office figures not mine! Pretty typical! A short, cold winter would be fine, but there is no spring, autumn or summer!!

Fraserburgh climate information - Met Office

When my daughter used to stay in Granada for skiing, all she ever needed in Granada was a thin top, thinnish coat, pumps and tights. On the slopes, I often saw them sitting with just a Tshirt top when they stopped at the outdoor cafe for refreshments- now we can rarely do that on any day of the year!

It's all relative. I take comfort from the fact that we don't have serious floods or earthquakes - touch wood.

And let's not forget that many UK homes aren't well insulated, double glazed, etc - or people simply can't afford to keep the heating on long enough to keep warm.

Mid April and my heating is still on every day for an hour in the morning before work, and from 5pm to bedtime. I set it to come on at 6pm after a couple of mild days last week but have just had to give in and reset to come on at 5pm as it was freezing when I came in from work.


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## Alcalaina

maureen47 said:


> I think when you have been in Spain a while you maybe get used to higher temperatures and when you think it is cold it would be very acceptable weather in the UK for example for the same time of ear. My sis in law who has been in the Valencia region for over ten yrs often comments on how cold it is when I am sat outside enjoying a bit of winter sun.


Very true, and it works in reverse too - if I visit the UK I find centrally heated rooms really uncomfortable. The inside of my nose dries out and I get a sore throat!


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## passiflora

Near Cartagena in Murcia we get a LOT of sunny days and, for the past 3 years very little rain. It can pour down 2 kilometres up the road and be bone dry over our finca. We had minus 3 once, 11 years ago and this winter has been very mild and we only lit the fire for about a month altogether. Like the Spanish, we have fleecy mantas to wrap up in while indoors in the evening. It's pretty scorchio in the hottest months but we are used to the temps now and are glad to be here rather than the wintry north as our arthritis is only now coming back to the boil after 13 years year.


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## Pesky Wesky

virgil said:


> When we lived in Los Cristianos back in the noughty nineties, I used to have the patio doors open todo tiempo (when we were in)
> 
> I had a thermometer that would constantly read 23° (in winter).. I thought it was faulty so I bought a new one - which read the same.
> 
> Lovely climate. Here's 'my' beach:
> 
> Webcam: Playa de las Vistas in Los Cristianos | Los Cristianos, Teneriffa - Spanien


Well, never having been to the Canaries I don't know a lot about the different areas and different climates, but I do know that there are parts of the islands that can, and do, receive torrential rains from time to time and this can cause a lot of damage to the natural environment and to shops and houses.
After a quick Google I've seen these areas affected by floodsTenerife, Santa Cruz and Los Cristianos, in Puerto Rico, in Arrecife...





It is of course the place where you're most likely to find good weather, and you're almost guaranteed to not have rain and cold, but the islands do, sometimes, get bad weather.


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## virgil

> _Well, never having been to the Canaries I don't know a lot about the different areas and different climates, but I do know that there are parts of the islands that can, and do, receive torrential rains from time to time and this can cause a lot of damage to the natural environment and to shops and houses.
> After a quick Google I've seen these areas affected by floodsTenerife, Santa Cruz and Los Cristianos, in Puerto Rico, in Arrecife...
> [url="https://Astonishing flash floods kills 5 in Tenerife & forces hundreds to leave their homes - YouTube
> 
> It is of course the place where you're most likely to find good weather, and you're almost guaranteed to not have rain and cold, but the islands do, sometimes, get bad weather_.


That awful event occurred last year I believe, Pesky Wesky. The flood in Tenerife was at the islands capital, Santa Cruz, which is in the North of the island. I have experienced torrential rain in the South of the island in Los Cristianos, but thankfully nothing like what happened in the North. 

Nowhere is immune to flash flooding of course - given the right (wrong) sequence of weather conditions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxweiRNlHbo


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## Pesky Wesky

virgil said:


> That awful event occurred last year I believe, Pesky Wesky. The flood in Tenerife was at the islands capital, Santa Cruz, which is in the North of the island. I have experienced torrential rain in the South of the island in Los Cristianos, but thankfully nothing like what happened in the North.
> 
> Nowhere is immune to flash flooding of course - given the right (wrong) sequence of weather conditions:
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxweiRNlHbo


That video is horrific, isn't it?


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## virgil

Pesky Wesky said:


> That video is horrific, isn't it?


Yes indeedy. I lived in Cornwall in the small hamlet of Warleggan (for any Poldark fans ) at the time, and the rain was bad enough there. The good news is, amazingly, no one lost their life in the Boscastle flood - unlike the flood in Santa Cruz de Tenerife


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## HarryB

When I tell people that one winter our terrace flooded and the patio furniture was floating around, they look at me as though I am mad  When we moved back to Scotland, my kids were rolling around on the carpet sayinf they never wanted to see marble floors again  However the summers were fab


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## kimuyen

Pesky Wesky said:


> There may be another thread with a similar title, but I just thought I'd get a thread going about winter here so that people have a chance to read about this myth that the Spain enjoys warm temperatures all year round.
> 
> It *doesn't*.
> 
> Parts of Spain experience warmer temperatures than most areas in the UK, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you'll be *warm* - warmer perhaps, but I say perhaps and not for sure.
> 
> Things to look out for when thinking about temperatures/ the weather.


If I had not lived here long enough (well, almost a year), I would think that you like Spain too much and are trying to scare the newcomers with your weather post  But I concede, you are right! Barcelona is freaking cold AND windy in the winter! After grad school, I turned down working in Chicago because it is so windy there (though I love it in the summer!) To add to the insult, windows and doors here are poorly insulated and we could see the light through openings. And of course, draft invites itself in during the winter month. I am still happy that I am here and do not have to shovel snow (yes, they had it bad in the States and Canada this year), but I need to adjust my mental thermometer.

So, do come to Spain if it entices you but do not sell your winter coats and boots.


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## Pesky Wesky

kimuyen said:


> If I had not lived here long enough (well, almost a year), I would think that you like Spain too much and are trying to scare the newcomers with your weather post  But I concede, you are right! Barcelona is freaking cold AND windy in the winter! After grad school, I turned down working in Chicago because it is so windy there (though I love it in the summer!) To add to the insult, windows and doors here are poorly insulated and we could see the light through openings. And of course, draft invites itself in during the winter month. I am still happy that I am here and do not have to shovel snow (yes, they had it bad in the States and Canada this year), but I need to adjust my mental thermometer.
> 
> So, do come to Spain if it entices you but do not sell your winter coats and boots.


Haha!
Yes, one of the reasons I thought this thread might be useful is because such a large number of people think we are exaggerating when talking of cold in Spain, but if those wanting to come to Spain really listen to what people are saying it would be difficult to ignore the "warnings"! I don't think people are saying the weather is as cold as in the UK or parts of the US, but just that the idea of all year warmth is wrong. Where I am it's almost 365 days of sunshine, (although not this year. Is the climate changing!?)), but not 365 days of warmth. Indeed those clear skies in Jan and Feb mean low temperatures and frost.
It took my family years to believe me when I said I'd scraped ice of the car or that we'd had 5 inches of snow. The last time my sister came over in 2013 it snowed quite heavily the first day and by the end of the week they were sat outside and wearing sandals!
Now, that's Madrid for you!


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## Brangus

We're in Albacete, 2 hours inland from Alicante and Valencia. A friend of mine lives in Morecambe, so that's one of the locations on my weather app. For several winters now, I've noticed that Albacete's winter temperatures are remarkably similar to Morecambe's. The big difference is obviously the moisture!

We once had an English visitor show up in January with shorts, floppy hat, and sandals, and hardly a scrap of useful winter clothing -- poor bloke. This thread is a good idea!


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## smitty5668

we've just bought in mazarron, murcia. stayed most of january and february .it was a very mixed bunch weather wise, warm in the sun and cold out of it. what you don't get is the depressingly grey skies that seem to permiate the u.k. all the time throughout the winter month which can be very depressing.

went back last week warmer but a lot of cloud. still needed a sweater at night though.


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## Pesky Wesky

Today.
At 11;30 the heating came on. It was under 17º in the house. When I walked to the village at 12:00 I was hot in my coat and took it off. At 4 o' clock I was out in the garden in t shirt and shorts on the sun lounger. OH was inside having a siesta under a blanket...
True story folks!!

But as Smitty says incredible deep blue skies all day.


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## passiflora

passiflora said:


> Near Cartagena in Murcia we get a LOT of sunny days and, for the past 3 years very little rain. It can pour down 2 kilometres up the road and be bone dry over our finca. We had minus 3 once, 11 years ago and this winter has been very mild and we only lit the fire for about a month altogether. Like the Spanish, we have fleecy mantas to wrap up in while indoors in the evening. It's pretty scorchio in the hottest months but we are used to the temps now and are glad to be here rather than the wintry north as our arthritis is only now coming back to the boil after 13 years year.



That should have read....after 13 years here.


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## Navas

At the moment, there's about 10 degrees difference in the temperature between here (Jerez) and East Anglia. Yesterday morning I was scraping frost off my car before I caught the plane to Jerez. Mid-morning here the temperature was in the mid to high teens and the sky a gorgeous blue. By afternoon I was so hot I came indoors to read. This morning the sun is battling with the clouds and the wind is howling. People always say the weather in the UK is very changeable but it can be like that here too. Now, can anybody tell me what I should wear when I go to meet Alcalaina in town this afternoon?


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## Alcalaina

Navas said:


> At the moment, there's about 10 degrees difference in the temperature between here (Jerez) and East Anglia. Yesterday morning I was scraping frost off my car before I caught the plane to Jerez. Mid-morning here the temperature was in the mid to high teens and the sky a gorgeous blue. By afternoon I was so hot I came indoors to read. This morning the sun is battling with the clouds and the wind is howling. People always say the weather in the UK is very changeable but it can be like that here too. Now, can anybody tell me what I should wear when I go to meet Alcalaina in town this afternoon?


I was just thinking the same thing! It's 22º and sunny here at the moment but I am a "_friolera_" so will take plenty of layers!


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## fcexpat

In my experience it's not the actual temperature that necessarily make one feel cold, it's the temperature change. of course brits on holiday will think it's warm when they come out in winter and wander around in shorts whilst the locals are in boots, scarves etc. We lived in the Caribbean for four years. One December, the missus said she was freezing, it had been cloudy and raining all day. The actual temperature was in the high seventies F would you believe !!
Yes, we've had some cold weather this winter but just imagine flying into UK in Jan/Feb. No thanks !!


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## Alcalaina

fcexpat said:


> In my experience it's not the actual temperature that necessarily make one feel cold, it's the temperature change. of course brits on holiday will think it's warm when they come out in winter and wander around in shorts whilst the locals are in boots, scarves etc. We lived in the Caribbean for four years. One December, the missus said she was freezing, it had been cloudy and raining all day. The actual temperature was in the high seventies F would you believe !!
> Yes, we've had some cold weather this winter but just imagine flying into UK in Jan/Feb. No thanks !!


The contrast, yes, and also what you become acclimatised to. After seven years here I am totally comfortable at an indoor temperature of 28º, whereas in the past that would have felt unbearably warm. However when the temperature inside goes below 20ºC I am piling on the sweaters.


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## smitty5668

just as an aside, been in our front garden in sussex today, i had to put after sun on as it appears i caught the sun a bit. weird or what


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## virgil

Beautiful weather in England lately. I've even got a tan in April. T'was 21° yesterday in Porthmadog, which is in some other country, I believe 

All downhill on Friday though - we've rain ... Yippie!


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## Isobella

Yes, been very good weather in the South of England for a couple of weeks though cold before 10am. Our garden really needs rain.

I don't think the cold winter in Spain would seem as bad if there were a good CH system in houses. Don't understand why new properties don't install it as routine.


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## extranjero

It's insulation that's needed, if that is good you probably don't need central heating, just a gas or wood fire and a mobile gas heater. Central heating can be expensive.
Central heating will just go straight through the uninsulated walls and heat the outside air.
Pre formed concrete slabs, which form the basis of many villas on urbanisations make the property like a fridge inside, combined with tiled floors.
Surely a "sandwich"wall with an insulation layer in the middle is possible?


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## virgil

This cottage could be like a fridge in the winter. 3 foot fick granite walls keep the cold out, but keep the heat out too in summertime  I think I'd like to live in an old-style house with thick walls in the hot country - during the high temps, but I would heat it with a wood burner during the cold months, like I do in this olde cottage, where the indoor temp rarely falls below 21° in winter, thanks to the multi-fuel stove.


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## The Skipper

Brangus said:


> We're in Albacete, 2 hours inland from Alicante and Valencia. A friend of mine lives in Morecambe, so that's one of the locations on my weather app. For several winters now, I've noticed that Albacete's winter temperatures are remarkably similar to Morecambe's. The big difference is obviously the moisture!
> 
> We once had an English visitor show up in January with shorts, floppy hat, and sandals, and hardly a scrap of useful winter clothing -- poor bloke. This thread is a good idea!


We have friends from Albacete. They tell us that they have known winter temperatures there of -12c!


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## Alcalaina

extranjero said:


> It's insulation that's needed, if that is good you probably don't need central heating, just a gas or wood fire and a mobile gas heater. Central heating can be expensive.
> Central heating will just go straight through the uninsulated walls and heat the outside air.
> Pre formed concrete slabs, which form the basis of many villas on urbanisations make the property like a fridge inside, combined with tiled floors.
> Surely a "sandwich"wall with an insulation layer in the middle is possible?


I'm told (by local builders) that such insulation would mean heat ccouldn't escape through the walls in summer, which would make it unbearably hot inside. And there are more hot months than cold ones so that makes sense.


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## Pazcat

I don't buy that at all, you practically can't buy a house in Australia without insulation these days and it get just as hot or hotter in parts. Insulation is designed to keep a house cool in summer and heat in in winter.
If a builder were to say that to me then he wouldn't get the job.

Personally I think it's down to the building methods, roofing styles and those blocks they use here. None of which are ideal for installing insulation or at least not as easy as just layering between walls as most wall are solid.


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## extranjero

Alcalaina said:


> I'm told (by local builders) that such insulation would mean heat ccouldn't escape through the walls in summer, which would make it unbearably hot inside. And there are more hot months than cold ones so that makes sense.


Wouldn't insulation keep heat out? And cold? It wouldnt get too hot inside with tiled floors 
More hot months than cold? Hmmm.......
Jan- April cold, some form of heating needed
April-June warm
June-September hot/ very hot/ hot, tailing off
Oct- Dec cool/ cold some form of heating needed 
Conclusion : more cool/ cold months than hot ones!


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## passiflora

We're a few miles away from Mazarron and have needed no heat for 6 weeks or more now. We have a wood fire but have decided that next winter, instead of buying wood at a cost of 250 euro for 3 tons we will just use our split instead and pay the electric company instead of the wood man! The ceiling will stay white longer that way! Our old house isn't particularly well built but does have an overhang front and back and our Spanish neighbours have commented on the warmth in our house in cooler weather and ask if we have central heating when in fact there has been no heat of any kind going on. The overhang keeps the sun off our large windows in summer (and winter) so don't know why the house feels warm in the cooler months. Mind you, our Spanish friends are still in scarves and boots at the moment etc In summer we have doors and windows open 24/7 including the main door all night but with the reja door across and a large GSD behind it! For us, central heating would be a waste of money.


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## Lynn R

passiflora said:


> We're a few miles away from Mazarron and have needed no heat for 6 weeks or more now. We have a wood fire but have decided that next winter, instead of buying wood at a cost of 250 euro for 3 tons we will just use our split instead and pay the electric company instead of the wood man! The ceiling will stay white longer that way! Our old house isn't particularly well built but does have an overhang front and back and our Spanish neighbours have commented on the warmth in our house in cooler weather and ask if we have central heating when in fact there has been no heat of any kind going on. The overhang keeps the sun off our large windows in summer (and winter) so don't know why the house feels warm in the cooler months. Mind you, our Spanish friends are still in scarves and boots at the moment etc In summer we have doors and windows open 24/7 including the main door all night but with the reja door across and a large GSD behind it! For us, central heating would be a waste of money.


We too have an overhang on the front of our house, which gets sun all day. It definitely helps to keep the house cool, and our visitors often comment on how cool it is inside. The 18" thick walls must help too. We don't keep our windows open 24/7 in the summer, though, they stay open all night but we close them all and the shutters by about midday and don't open them again until sundown. The back door is always open and the house is built around a patio surrounded by 3 storey walls, which people have told us acts as a chimney and draws the warm air upwards out of the house.

In 8+ years here we've never needed any heating on in April or October, and this year has been no exception. Some years we haven't needed it until late November or after early March, either, so 4 months is the absolute maximum.

Funnily enough, with the very warm weather we had in late March here we've seen an unusual amount of Spanish people shedding their winter clothes and going around in t-shirts and the younger guys even in shorts, which is normally unthinkable!

PS One of them just passed by with no shirt on at all, just the shorts!


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## Pesky Wesky

I think there's a danger of generalising about Spain here.
Our house is brick built and there is a double wall. Between the 2 there is a space. I don't know if that officially makes it a cavity wall, but there is a space. When we had some work done on the house a few years ago one of our objectives was to make the north facing living room more comfortable. Don't forget this is north facing and at a height of 880m although it's an adosada so it's not on top of a hill on its own. We...


 replaced climalit (a poor quality double glazing) sliding patio doors with better quality double glazing "normal" shutting (don't know the technical word for it) doors. Apparently you don't get a good seal with sliding doors
 Replaced the insulation in the wall with the patio doors (sheets of polystyrene) with an ecological (therefore letting the wall breathe) insulation (paper based)
 Replaced the radiator which was one old style with 2 better quality and in 2 different parts of of the room to distribute the heat better.
In this room we also have a *wood fire *which was there when we bought it. It's a *caseta* type and a very good one.
Years ago, before we moved in we had the living room and bedroom tiled floors covered with *cork*. Twenty one years later they are shabby and need revarnishing, but I am so glad we got that done.


From this experience my own view is that when you buy you have to find out about the temperatures and really think about the orientation, which we didn't! The temperatures are one thing, but the orientation will really affect what you feel in the house. You also need to find out about building materials as this will make a huge difference to your comfort, and your bills, but will also tell you if improvements can be made if needed. It seems there are plenty of solutions out there if your house is uncomfortable temperature wise. You just have to see what fits you and your pocket best.


PS I think insulation, especially if natural materials are used, (also be careful with what paint you use) work against heat and cold in equal measures


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## Cyberia

Lynn R said:


> Were you asleep for the two weeks of near 30C temperatures we had leading up to Easter, then?


I'm on your coast, Torre del Mar and while we had some good days where it scraped in at 25.C, most of the weather was poor and overcast with some days around 16.C. While I expect cold nights in February and March, I thought weather in Spain in the day time has been poor this year.


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## Cyberia

Over a year ago I spent winter just outside of the village of Hondon de los Frailes, 28 miles inland from Torrevieja and 415 metres up, and we had some frosty mornings, and lots of cold nights. The country house had no insulation worth talking about.

It annoyed me no end a while back when MAC did a cartoon in the Daily Mail showing an elderly couple sunbathing in Spain by their swimming pool in mid Winter and their UK winter heating allowance was spent on Spanish wine, which was just being delivered to their luxury house. 

Of course, many Brits think all of Spain is hot all year round and snow is unknown here.

I remember being in a very hot Las Palmas (Gran Canaria) in January 1983 and on TV they showed snow falling on the Costa del Sol beaches.

As I remember a very cold spell staying in Las Americas, Tenerife in the 90's in Jan/Feb period.


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## Lynn R

Cyberia said:


> I'm on your coast, Torre del Mar and while we had some good days where it scraped in at 25.C, most of the weather was poor and overcast with some days around 16.C. While I expect cold nights in February and March, I thought weather in Spain in the day time has been poor this year.


Strangely enough, it seems there have been a few days this March when the weather has actually been a bit better away from the coast. We had friends staying the first week in March and there was one day when there was really thick fog all along the coast - we went up to Frigiliana and it was lovely and sunny there, once we got up above the mist. They arrived on Monday 2 March and were taken aback at how warm it was when we arrived and were sitting outside having a drink in Malaga after meeting them at the airport. Many pictures have been posted on Facebook taken by them in bright sunshine, both around here and when we spent a day in Granada. Last Friday, too, we were down in Torre del Mar for the day and it was quite misty again, but when we got back here it was warm and sunny with mostly clear skies.

We defiinitely had several days the week before Semana Santa when the temperatures were 28/29 degrees in the afternoons - and the whole of Semana Santa passed without even a brief shower of rain, which I can scarcely remember having happened before, even when Easter has fallen later.

I do think it was colder this year from December to mid March, often because it has been so windy most of the time, but my perception has not been that there have been too many totally dull days, and definitely less rain than we had a few years back, from about 2010-12.

Some actual metereological information here about the weather in Malaga during March (you can probably find the same details for the other winter months on the same site):-

http://www.malaga-weather.com/article.875.html


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## Lynn R

Cyberia said:


> As I remember a very cold spell staying in Las Americas, Tenerife in the 90's in Jan/Feb period.


Almost anywhere can experience unusual weather conditions at times. We were once in Florida in December and the temperature struggled to get over 60F - their coldest winter weather for over 50 years, apparently (just our luck!). We were freezing and had to go out and buy warmer clothes.


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## SandraP

We are near Morecambe and yes it has been glorious in the UK. I too have a tan from gardening on Saturday and sitting in the garden on Monday & Tuesday reading my Kindle. 
I am afraid I am a sun worshipper and can sit out all day in full sun.


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## titania

This thread is making my head spin in confusion  Here I am in Tenerife, north of the island, and looking to come back to the mainland for lack of those facilities I want here.... but... but.... the weather near Malaga in winter???

Truth to be told, the climate in the north of Tenerife is nothing like in the south of this island. Here, it's permanently cloudy, it's been what I call cold this winter (and the last one as well), that is the outside temperature at night was around 14°C and not much more than 18°C during the day. I've just had two days of sunshine with 21°C after weeks of clouds. I still have 2 duvets on the bed (plus pajamas) and I used an oil-filled radiator in the bedroom at least 8-10 days a month since last November, the last time last night.

Admittedly, I function best at an even temperature of 23°C and my health does not like huge temperature changes and has been much better since moving here. I don't know which I hate most, the clouds here, or the cold on Costa del Sol, that cold there which would be colder than here, if it makes sense!

Maybe I'm better off trying to move down the south of the island which is reputedly warmer and sunnier, and get my indispensable groceries on the 50% reduced residents air ticket once month somewhere in mainland Spain? I really don't want to contemplate moving to the Caribbean!

So confused now....


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## virgil

SandraP said:


> We are near Morecambe and yes it has been glorious in the UK. I too have a tan from gardening on Saturday and sitting in the garden on Monday & Tuesday reading my Kindle.
> I am afraid *I am a sun worshipper and can sit out all day in full sun*.


You and me both! .. in fact, I am solar-powered (not many people know this)

:madgrin:


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## virgil

titania said:


> This thread is making my head spin in confusion  Here I am in Tenerife, north of the island, and looking to come back to the mainland for lack of those facilities I want here.... but... but.... the weather near Malaga in winter???
> 
> Truth to be told, the climate in the north of Tenerife is nothing like in the south of this island. Here, it's permanently cloudy, it's been what I call cold this winter (and the last one as well), that is the outside temperature at night was around 14°C and not much more than 18°C during the day. I've just had two days of sunshine with 21°C after weeks of clouds. I still have 2 duvets on the bed (plus pajamas) and I used an oil-filled radiator in the bedroom at least 8-10 days a month since last November, the last time last night.
> 
> Admittedly, I function best at an even temperature of 23°C and my health does not like huge temperature changes and has been much better since moving here. I don't know which I hate most, the clouds here, or the cold on Costa del Sol, that cold there which would be colder than here, if it makes sense!
> 
> Maybe I'm better off trying to move down the south of the island which is reputedly warmer and sunnier, and get my indispensable groceries on the 50% reduced residents air ticket once month somewhere in mainland Spain? I really don't want to contemplate moving to the Caribbean!
> 
> So confused now....


The North of Tenerife has always been cloudier and colder than the South. I pointed out further up the thread that when I lived in Los Cristianos, my indoor thermometer used to hover around the 22/23° mark for most of the winter months but, I'm talking about the mid 1990's so, maybe the climate is changing even out there 
The South of the island isn't everyone's cup of tea of course, the peeps are mainly the more (ahem!) mature types, during the winter months, giving way to the younger generation (to put it politely) during summer.


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## Cyberia

Lynn R said:


> Almost anywhere can experience unusual weather conditions at times. We were once in Florida in December and the temperature struggled to get over 60F - their coldest winter weather for over 50 years, apparently (just our luck!). We were freezing and had to go out and buy warmer clothes.


I was in the Florida Keys in 1982 and most of Florida above Miami was very cold as in icy and farmers were talking about losing orange crops, etc.

I go to Thailand a lot and in the north and high up, some nights in mid winter it can be as cold as 15.C (that is plus and not minus) and the government issues blankets (which are often immediately sold) to the poor who are shivering in such temperatures.


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## Cyberia

Lynn R. I look at Seville with envy on such days as they are always hotter then here, sometimes 7-9.C, but not in mid summer when they can have temperatures into the low fifties, when it was a mere 45.C here last August.


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## Lynn R

Cyberia said:


> Lynn R. I look at Seville with envy on such days as they are always hotter then here, sometimes 7-9.C, but not in mid summer when they can have temperatures into the low fifties, when it was a mere 45.C here last August.


No, I wouldn't like the summer temperatures in Seville, either. We always go for a few days in November when the weather is usually perfect - a bit chilly in the evenings but most newer apartments (we normally rent one) have "proper" gas central heating which is very nice! We started the habit well before we ever moved here, when we went on a day trip by air for my OH's birthday. We left Manchester at 7.30 am muffled up in jumpers and heavy coats, and by noon in Seville it was a beautiful 25C, so the woollies were discarded pretty quickly.


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## Alcalaina

extranjero said:


> Wouldn't insulation keep heat out? And cold? It wouldnt get too hot inside with tiled floors
> More hot months than cold? Hmmm.......
> Jan- April cold, some form of heating needed
> April-June warm
> June-September hot/ very hot/ hot, tailing off
> Oct- Dec cool/ cold some form of heating needed
> Conclusion : more cool/ cold months than hot ones!


I guess they were talking about heat generated _inside _the house - cooking, electrical appliances etc - and people (a human body generates as much heat as a small electric fire). With insulated walls it couldn't escape. But yes, I would have thought insulation would be beneficial overall, though very hard to install as most of the houses in the pueblo are hundreds of years old with thick walls filled with rubble. We rely on white paint and keeping the window blinds down to keep us cool in summer.

We normally have some heating on from around the middle of November to the end of March. Our hot months are May-Sept, with April and October being warm. Conclusion: 7.5 warm/hot months and 4.5 cool/cold.


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## Cyberia

Alcalaina. I was in Chiclana near Cadiz a few days ago and there was a near hurricane wind blowing and the guy I was visiting said it was normal this time of year.


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## Alcalaina

Cyberia said:


> Alcalaina. I was in Chiclana near Cadiz a few days ago and there was a near hurricane wind blowing and the guy I was visiting said it was normal this time of year.


Yes, the Levante - but thankfully it doesn't last long, it's lovely again today.

It's thanks to the Levante and its close friend the Poniente that the Costa de la Luz didn't end up like other beautiful parts of Spain's coastline during the concrete boom. They thought nobody would want to come here. Now it's one of the world's most popular kitesurfing venues, and our wind turbines provide green energy for half the country.


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## Cyberia

I drove many miles south along the open roads and that wind really blasted the vehicles.

I am on the east side of Malaga and I was surprised how built up the west side is in comparison.


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## Alcalaina

Cyberia said:


> I drove many miles south along the open roads and that wind really blasted the vehicles.
> 
> I am on the east side of Malaga and I was surprised how built up the west side is in comparison.


Yes we tend to stay indoors when it's blowing. It's also impossible to hang out the washing! But as I said, it's only an occasional thing. I know some people think it goes on the whole time and that puts them off coming here, which is a shame.

The Costa del Sol west of Málaga is one of the worst examples of rampant overdevelopment, but even there you can find some nice parts. Once you get past Algeciras though, you hit the Costa de la Luz and apart from a few fishing ports, surfing communes and golf resorts it's pretty clear all the way up to Cadiz.


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## Cyberia

As you say, if you are willing to put up with some occasional winds, far better to be where you are than the over developed south. The man I met had been there for 13 years and would not move elsewhere.


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## thrax

Interesting thread PW. I love the winters here. They are so different from the summers, unlike Blighty where they are more or less the same.


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## extranjero

thrax said:


> Interesting thread PW. I love the winters here. They are so different from the summers, unlike Blighty where they are more or less the same.


Summers and winters more or less the same in Blighty?
Surely you don't mean that?


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## thrax

extranjero said:


> Summers and winters more or less the same in Blighty?
> Surely you don't mean that?


Yes I do!! I've had summers that were so cold and wet you really couldn't distinguish them from winter. I can't recall which year but it was in the naughties where the summer we had was so cold and wet the previous winter was recorded as warmer. In summer you plan a BBQ and when the big day arrives the temp rarely goes above 14C and it rains. The next day the temp soars to 20C but too late, the BBQ was yesterday. In Spain it is often very cold in the winter evenings and you end up wanting summer to arrive and when it does you can't wait for winter etc etc etc... But in Spain, you plan a summer BBQ and the weather is 999 times out of a thousand perfect...


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## Cyberia

When I bought my house in rural NW France in 1994, it seemed like it rained for the next four years. The area gets a lot of rain and in winter, I have been snowed in often for a week at a time as no one bothers clearing our road till last.


Spain is a lot easier weather wise but even then I expect I shall be again spending much of winter in Asia where it is rather hot and often just a few days heavy rain in 3 months.


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## Pesky Wesky

Have revived this old thread and it seems to have a lot of differing opinions about the weather which I think reflects the diversity of Spain.
Unfortunately the main weather story today is of how 4 elderly people were killed in their old people's home as the result of a flooded river.
Mueren cuatro ancianas en la inundación de residencia Agramunt
Without wanting to sound too negative it really can be dangerous living on a river bank or worse a dry river bed as Spain is more and more often on the receiving end of torrential rains leading to flash floods.


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## thrax

We've just experienced what has been described by Aemet as the worst storm for 20 years. Extensive damage along the Costa (del Sol) and friends living in Torrox Pueblo have water cascading down their stairs. We were lucky because although we had a lot of rain, the wind kept away mostly and the storm out over the Med was a spectacular sight. More rain today and the temperature at night is around 12C which, when you have acclimatised to Spanish summers, is very cold.


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## stefig

Currently experiencing that Spanish winter thing where the flat is many times colder inside than the outside temperature...and I'm in balmy Valencia! Huddled up under a duvet here. I wonder how I ever survived living in inland Andalucia.


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## el romeral

stefig said:


> Currently experiencing that Spanish winter thing where the flat is many times colder inside than the outside temperature...and I'm in balmy Valencia! Huddled up under a duvet here. I wonder how I ever survived living in inland Andalucia.


Inland Andalucia reporting here. A very agreeable 22.5C in my house this evening - shorts & T shirt temperatures. No huddling going on :roll:. Have not used any form of heating yet this year. Outside is 18.5 C just now 22:30hrs.


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## stefig

el romeral said:


> Inland Andalucia reporting here. A very agreeable 22.5C in my house this evening - shorts & T shirt temperatures. No huddling going on :roll:. Have not used any form of heating yet this year. Outside is 18.5 C just now 22:30hrs.


Oh just wait until January!  Many fond memories of sitting in my flat near Granada, with the estufa under the tablecloth.


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## el romeral

Oh I know it doesn't last forever, but for now it is fine.


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## gus-lopez

el romeral said:


> Inland Andalucia reporting here. A very agreeable 22.5C in my house this evening - shorts & T shirt temperatures. No huddling going on :roll:. Have not used any form of heating yet this year. Outside is 18.5 C just now 22:30hrs.


22.5º is time to light the fire.


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## Lynn R

el romeral said:


> Inland Andalucia reporting here. A very agreeable 22.5C in my house this evening - shorts & T shirt temperatures. No huddling going on :roll:. Have not used any form of heating yet this year. Outside is 18.5 C just now 22:30hrs.


We're only 5km inland but much the same here, apart from the fact that we've put the shorts away for the winter! Just like every other year since we arrived on a permanent basis in 2006, we haven't needed to use any heating at all in October, and in fact I've only started putting a cardigan on in the evenings for about the last 2 weeks. It was raining yesterday morning and I put a light sweater on, went out to meet friends and had to change it for a T shirt before 1pm after the rain stopped and the sun came out.


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## Lynn R

thrax said:


> We've just experienced what has been described by Aemet as the worst storm for 20 years. Extensive damage along the Costa (del Sol) and friends living in Torrox Pueblo have water cascading down their stairs. We were lucky because although we had a lot of rain, the wind kept away mostly and the storm out over the Med was a spectacular sight. More rain today and the temperature at night is around 12C which, when you have acclimatised to Spanish summers, is very cold.


I don't know how Aemet can say that, really, when you look at the pictures of the floods in Málaga in 2012 which were far worse than what happened last weekend, and I think it was that year that a tornado blew the roof off the bus station there too.
https://www.google.es/search?q=inun...BsQsARqFQoTCMuC2JGD9sgCFce-FAodDBEIpA&dpr=0.9

The worst weather experienced in the Málaga area in the 20th century was apparently in November 1989 when 8 people were killed.

http://malaga-meteo.blogspot.com.es/2009/11/de-aquel-cielo-*****-de-noviembre-20.html

I've seen the newspaper pictures of the flooding along the seafront in Torre del Mar and the damage done to the beaches, but just 5km inland from there the amount of rain we had was far less than we got a couple of weeks ago, and it wasn't windy either.


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## Lynn R

The tornado I was thinking of was actually in 2009, caused much more damage and many more injuries than last weekend's storm, so what are Aemet on about, calling it the worst storm for 20 years?

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_de_Málaga_de_2009


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## virgil

Lynn R said:


> We're only 5km inland but much the same here, apart from the fact that *we've put the shorts away for the winter!* Just like every other year since we arrived on a permanent basis in 2006, we haven't needed to use any heating at all in October, and in fact I've only started putting a cardigan on in the evenings for about the last 2 weeks. It was raining yesterday morning and I put a light sweater on, went out to meet friends and had to change it for a T shirt before 1pm after the rain stopped and the sun came out.


I'm still in shorts and T shirt, and I'm in Cornwall.

Just saying


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## Pazcat

gus-lopez said:


> 22.5º is time to light the fire.


Agreed just about, usually don't put the heater on until it hits 21 though.

Hoping to buy a wood burner soon, I think we need/want one but don't have a chimney so need to work out where we can actually place it.


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## Alcalaina

Lynn R said:


> The tornado I was thinking of was actually in 2009, caused much more damage and many more injuries than last weekend's storm, so what are Aemet on about, calling it the worst storm for 20 years?
> 
> https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_de_Málaga_de_2009


I think they referred to it as a _temporal_, which is a period of extreme bad weather, rather than a specific event like a tornado. It was certainly more extensive, covering half the country. They measure specific indicators like the volume of rainfall, temperature and windspeed.


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## jimenato

virgil said:


> I'm still in shorts and T shirt, and I'm in Cornwall.
> 
> Just saying


Not far away in Somerset. November the 1st was the warmest November day on record 22.5. Absolutely gorgeous weather and the autumn colours this year are spectacular due to the lack of wind.


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## Pesky Wesky

jimenato said:


> Not far away in Somerset. November the 1st was the warmest November day on record 22.5. Absolutely gorgeous weather and the autumn colours this year are spectacular due to the lack of wind.


I'll be there on Thurs, so hope the weather holds!!
Meanwhile the heating has been on this morning and I've got jeans and a jumper on. Still, it really is not cold considering we're in November


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## virgil

jimenato said:


> Not far away in Somerset. November the 1st was the warmest November day on record 22.5. Absolutely gorgeous weather and the autumn colours this year are spectacular due to the lack of wind.


Yes indeedy - it's been a mighty-fine autumn, but a poor summer. I usually light the multi-fuel stove at Halloween, but I'm holding out for as long as I can.

I'm yet to make a start on this lot yet:


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## thrax

Thanks Virgil, you reminded me I need to think about buying some logs. First open fire last winter wasn't until Christmas Day - we didn't need it but it was Christmas Day. After that mid Jan before we lit one. I have a feeling this year might be a bit earlier; most of our Spanish friends who 'know' about these things are saying we are in for a hard winter.


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## virgil

thrax said:


> Thanks Virgil, you reminded me I need to think about buying some logs. First open fire last winter wasn't until Christmas Day - we didn't need it but it was Christmas Day. After that mid Jan before we lit one. I have a feeling this year might be a bit earlier; most of our Spanish friends who 'know' about these things are saying we are in for a hard winter.


You're welcome thrax. 

'They' said it was going to be a a hard winter here last year - I even bought 4 x Vredestein Wintrac xtreme tyres for my Subaru but, we hardly had any white stuff at all in this neck of the woods.


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## mrypg9

Lynn R said:


> The tornado I was thinking of was actually in 2009, caused much more damage and many more injuries than last weekend's storm, so what are Aemet on about, calling it the worst storm for 20 years?
> 
> https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tornado_de_Málaga_de_2009


Yes, I agree, the storm in February 2009 was much worse. We were living in the piso then and the gales blew all the big satellite dishes off the roof. Spectacular lightning and thunder. The day after the worse had passed I had to fly to the UK, from Gibraltar (we were bussed to Malaga). A friend drove me down in his 4x4. On a particularly hilly exposed spot the car was struck by one of those heavy white barriers used to close off roads. It just came flying through the air and hit the roof of the car about an inch above the side window - my side - leaving a deep dent on the roof. 
A tiny bit lower and I'd have been decapitated....


----------



## bentms

Great info on this thread for a first time buyer....

I'll remember to pack a coat ;-)


----------



## The Skipper

virgil said:


> Yes indeedy - it's been a mighty-fine autumn, but a poor summer. I usually light the multi-fuel stove at Halloween, but I'm holding out for as long as I can.
> 
> I'm yet to make a start on this lot yet:
> 
> View attachment 53537


We lived in Cornwall for over 30 years and can remember several times when we had to light a fire in July and August as the mist and rain engulfed us! Here in Spain I enjoyed a siesta in the sun beside the pool today but have just lit a small fire to take away the night chill.


----------



## Maureen47

We are Scottish , Winter in Spain is sub tropical compared to what we grew up with ! To be there in October in shorts and t shirt is fab, we arrive in Nov which is still sub tropical and can cope with Dec, Jan , Feb and then in March its like a Scottish summer , we will cook from then onwards , maybe after a few yrs in Spain we will moan about the weather but for now all is good


----------



## Lolito

Just arrived from the beach, still people swimming and sunbathing, although today the sea was a bit rough, not sure it will last long although in the 4 years we have been here, the last day we went to the beach to sunbather and swim was always around the middle of November, which is not too bad. We are looking forward to light the fire, although to be honest, it is never that cold, but my other half keeps pestering me light it up now, just for effect, not because it is cold, I said we'll put it on in December, together with the Xmas tree... lol !

Ops! and we never used the winter quilt from UK, for winter we use the 'summer' quilt which to be honest it is a bit too much.


----------



## virgil

The Skipper said:


> We lived in Cornwall for over 30 years and can remember several times when we had to light a fire in July and August as the mist and rain engulfed us! Here in Spain I enjoyed a siesta in the sun beside the pool today but have just lit a small fire to take away the night chill.


30 years eh, you're obviously a glutton for punishment 

We've lived here for 18 years now = Warleggan + Gorran Haven + Bodelva (near the Eden Pro) + Truro, and now near Trethurgy - the other side of the Eden.

This cottage was built in 1790 so the walls are like, thick, it doesn't take a lot of heating to make it warm & snugly and, it'll be sunny again here in about 5 or 6 months time. 

:rain:


----------



## Alcalaina

27ºC here today, not a cloud in the sky. Forecast to stay like this for a week at least. It's like a lovely reward for being battered by high winds and torrential rain for thee days solid!


----------



## Isobella

Portugal had it bad too. A friend sent me photos of Albufiera where they live.


----------



## WeeScottie

We live in a cold old house in Scotland, haven't experienced our first Andalusian winter yet but guessing it's got to be a whole lot warmer than here? Debating buying an electric blanket!


----------



## Lynn R

WeeScottie said:


> We live in a cold old house in Scotland, haven't experienced our first Andalusian winter yet but guessing it's got to be a whole lot warmer than here? Debating buying an electric blanket!


Buy an electric duvet (available on Amazon) and bring it with you - someone on here said recently they don't deliver them to Spain any more, which is how we got ours. It's one of the best things we've ever bought for the house. Not particularly cheap at 99 pounds (as best as I remember) for the king size but very cosy, has 6 different heat settings, can be programmed to be on for as long as you want and each side can have a different temperature, with individual controls.

The outside temperatures will almost certainly be higher than Scotland. However, in Spanish houses it frequently feels colder inside the house than out in winter, and especially if it has been sunny during the day you really feel the sudden drop in temperatures once the sun goes down. We keep our windows open all day in winter to let the warmer air in, and close them at sundown. In the summer we do the opposite.


----------



## Madliz

WeeScottie said:


> We live in a cold old house in Scotland, haven't experienced our first Andalusian winter yet but guessing it's got to be a whole lot warmer than here? Debating buying an electric blanket!


It really depends whereabouts you are. I was in Andalucía last week, in the Sierra Morena of Sevilla, and had a hot water bottle every night. The bed was made up with two wool blankets and I still woke at dawn feeling very chilly in my winter jimjams!


----------



## Lynn R

Alcalaina said:


> 27ºC here today, not a cloud in the sky. Forecast to stay like this for a week at least. It's like a lovely reward for being battered by high winds and torrential rain for thee days solid!


Same here. I am pleased for the holidaymakers too, nobody likes bad weather when they go away. We met our friends who are in Nerja for a week on Tuesday and they were looking a bit glum, I'm sure they will have cheered up now!


----------



## WeeScottie

The electric duvet sounds a great idea! I feel a little bit of online shopping coming on. Maybe a double electric heated big slipper for cosy nights in too....maybe that's taking it too far ha ha


----------



## Lynn R

WeeScottie said:


> The electric duvet sounds a great idea! I feel a little bit of online shopping coming on. Maybe a double electric heated big slipper for cosy nights in too....maybe that's taking it too far ha ha


Reminds me of Billy Connolly.

We won't be able to afford one of those now anyway - my OH bought the electric duvet out of his first year's Winter Fuel Allowance when they had to start paying it ot expats, but as you know that is no more.


----------



## WeeScottie

Ah the big slipper and the duvets with sleeves, good times!


----------



## Lynn R

The unusually warm weather for this time of year is set to continue for at least the next ten days, I'm pleased to see. If the weather does turn colder after that, at least the winter will seem shorter. It really has been lovely for the last few days.


Noviembre llegará al ecuador con temperaturas casi primaverales en Málaga . SUR.es


----------



## Pesky Wesky

jimenato said:


> Not far away in Somerset. November the 1st was the warmest November day on record 22.5. Absolutely gorgeous weather and the autumn colours this year are spectacular due to the lack of wind.





Pesky Wesky said:


> I'll be there on Thurs, so hope the weather holds!!
> Meanwhile the heating has been on this morning and I've got jeans and a jumper on. Still, it really is not cold considering we're in November


Well, the weather didn't hold, did it?
It wasn't at all cold though, just rainy and very dark. What a contrast to the light and blue skies of Madrid today.


----------



## Pesky Wesky

Lynn R said:


> The unusually warm weather for this time of year is set to continue for at least the next ten days, I'm pleased to see. If the weather does turn colder after that, at least the winter will seem shorter. It really has been lovely for the last few days.
> 
> 
> Noviembre llegarÃ¡ al ecuador con temperaturas casi primaverales en MÃ¡laga . SUR.es


30º in Santander. OH was in Bilbao in short sleeves at the weekend.
That's just not right.
I wish Real Autumn would come.


----------



## thrax

The weather here just now is how I would describe as the perfect British summer. No humidity, clear blue skies and temps around 24C. Perfect. Set to change this Saturday perhaps...


----------



## Isobella

Strange weather here in UK. We have daffodils and primroses out alongside holly hung down with berries. A bush that has blue flowers in June flowering now and some geraniums too. I expect we shall pay for it in January


----------



## Pesky Wesky

In the last 2 days I have finally heard something about the water shortage that is inevitably coming or is already here (depending on where you live).
According to some expert on the radio there will be no problem for drinking water in Spain, but there could be severe problems in all other areas of water usage.


----------



## virgil

Isobella said:


> Strange weather here in UK. We have daffodils and primroses out alongside holly hung down with berries. A bush that has blue flowers in June flowering now and some geraniums too. I expect we shall pay for it in January


Yup! .. Winter will most-likely begin in January and carry on 'til late March.
I have still got all the logs in my logstore being it's been soooo mild.
I've even considered swapping my multi-fuel stove in for an air conditioner.


----------



## jimenato

Our outside thermometer (Somerset) registered 14 last night at 23:00 - just like most other days so far this winter - weird stuff. We had to scrape windows once back in November I seem to remember but that's it. Surely the warmest December for many years.


----------



## el romeral

Whatever happens it is going to be a really short winter this year. Been really spring like the last few weeks. Low 20's for a while now. Today to reach 24 in Malaga. As mentioned, could do with some rain though. We last had rain about 7 weeks ago.

Fantastic weather for the convertible but I not so good for the water table and reservoirs etc.


----------



## thrax

24 here today but due to turn a bit colder next week. Maybe...


----------



## Alcalaina

Apparently this mild weather isn't good for olive farmers - the olives ripen too early and there's not enough flavour, or something.

Meanwhile I am happy to spend the afternoons in my hammock topping up the Vitamin D levels.


----------



## thrax

Alcalaina said:


> Apparently this mild weather isn't good for olive farmers - the olives ripen too early and there's not enough flavour, or something.
> 
> Meanwhile I am happy to spend the afternoons in my hammock topping up the Vitamin D levels.


I might be wrong but from the pic the clues suggest you live in Spain. I'm right, yes?


----------



## Pesky Wesky

Alcalaina said:


> Apparently this mild weather isn't good for olive farmers - the olives ripen too early and there's not enough flavour, or something.
> 
> Meanwhile I am happy to spend the afternoons in my hammock topping up the Vitamin D levels.


A very "living in Spain" picture.
Note the bright sun and the furry boots to the side, needed no doubt, to go back into the house


----------



## smitty5668

well we've lived in sussex for over thirty two years and this is the warmest nov/dec that i.ve had down here. 
going out to mazarron on the 5th january, so two christmases this year. aircon fitted the 7th, so warm as anything from then on,
looking forward to the better winters in murcia.


----------



## Pesky Wesky

smitty5668 said:


> well we've lived in sussex for over thirty two years and this is the warmest nov/dec that i.ve had down here.
> going out to mazarron on the 5th january, so two christmases this year. aircon fitted the 7th, so warm as anything from then on,
> looking forward to the better winters in murcia.


I've lived here (30km from Madrid) for 21 years and this is by far the warmest autumn we've had.


----------



## Rabbitcat

My turn, my turn!

I have lived in Belfast all my life and it's sh1t!


----------



## baldilocks

So far it is the warmest we have had, although just after we arrived in November 2008, we were sitting out on the terrace eating lunch in the sun, however 6 weeks later I had frostbite.

We are off to the Cazorla Natural Park as usual for Chrissy and the nudeyear and whereas, in previous years we have been able to make smallish snowballs, I fear that will not be the case this year. The Sierra Nevada south of Granada is Sierra de Nada this year.


----------



## baldilocks

Rabbitcat said:


> My turn, my turn!
> 
> I have lived in Belfast all my life and it's sh1t!


I believe that is what they were saying about the sea off the CdS the other day.


----------



## AllHeart

Rabbitcat said:


> My turn, my turn!
> 
> I have lived in Belfast all my life and it's sh1t!


Oh yeah?! Well, I lived in Canada all my life.  This is the second year in my life that I don't own winter boots. Woot!


----------



## Isobella

Warm in Canada and USA too.

Unusual December heatwave hits North America - Al Jazeera English


----------



## Madliz

The first Christmas we spent here, in the 90s, we had consecutive nighttime minimums of -9, -10 and -12ºC, colder than anything I'd experienced in the UK!

We're expecting a high of 16º tomorrow and having a bbq. I'm almost imagining the house has sold and I'm in Málaga already. :fingerscrossed:


----------



## baldilocks

Isobella said:


> Warm in Canada and USA too.
> 
> Unusual December heatwave hits North America - Al Jazeera English


All that hot air being spouted by certain people!


----------



## WeeScottie

Primroses in full bloom in our Scottish garden, amazingly mild here....


----------



## Maureen47

First December in Spain and fabulous weather , sure this cant be the norm , spanish friends in village said I had become a local as I was wearing boots and a scarf when we met up for Menu del Dia lol , want to fit in lol ! it has made a huge difference to us to get so much done outdoors as it has been so good , temps drop big time overnight but days have been glorious , enjoy while the sun shines !


----------



## Kchq

Erm don't know what area you are in WeeScottie but in Ayrshire we've had the most rainfall over the past month than I can ever remember, it's horrid - yeah ok the temperature has reached just over 10 degrees a few days, but I longingly review my weather app for Malaga and Almeria and I for sure know where I'd rather be right now. &#55357;&#56846;


----------



## WeeScottie

I managed to miss the rain, I was in Frigiliana during the worst of it. We're in the Clyde valley with the Clyde literally at bottom of the garden. Thankfully it's a good way away and the garden is very steep, it's running very fast and deep at the moment.


----------



## Kchq

You were lucky, Bridge of Weir and Lochwinnoch (near us) were water locked. Looking forward to coming over to Spain on 15th Jan, should we include a visit to Frigiliana on our Recci tour of the region ? We've already booked accom in Malaga, Torrox, La Herradura - all part of the 5 year countdown .....


----------



## WeeScottie

Frigiliana is well worth a visit. It's a very pretty little town. Lots of charming cobbled streets, amazing sea, mountain and valley views. We love it. We're also on count down to moving there permanantly having bought earlier this year. So far so good, no negatives whatsoever. I get across for a week or so each month. I can see our countdown being brought forward.


----------



## Pesky Wesky

maureen47 said:


> First December in Spain and fabulous weather , sure this cant be the norm , spanish friends in village said I had become a local as I was wearing boots and a scarf when we met up for Menu del Dia lol , want to fit in lol ! it has made a huge difference to us to get so much done outdoors as it has been so good , temps drop big time overnight but days have been glorious , enjoy while the sun shines !


Glad you're having such a good time Maureen. It seems that you were so "ready" to come to Spain. You'd better start wishing for some rain or snow higher up though or you'll be fighting off water restrictions and dust bowls soon


----------



## Pesky Wesky

This is another picture that shows the drought that large areas of Spain are suffering.

The Ariza bridge between Linares and Úbeda is usually under water, but look at it now!










El Puente de Ariza reaparece gracias a la sequÃ*a

In this report from August we read


> in the entire Mediterranean region, and particularly in Spain, the heat wave was even longer than that of 2003, with maximum daily temperatures consistently above 30°C for durations of 30 to
> 35 days (even more than 40 days in Spain).
> The impact of these meteorological conditions on vegetation cover became evident in the satellite data from June, and became more marked towards the end of July, when the areas affected by unfavourable thermal and hydrological conditions clearly emerged with negative anomalies of the fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (fAPAR), a proxy of the vigour of the vegetation canopy.
> The prolonged period of reduced rainfall supplies and high temperatures negatively affected many environmental and production sectors. In fact, newspapers and electronic media widely reported on restrictions to civil and industrial water uses, losses in agricultural production (a shortened crop cycle for rain-fed and irrigated crops, impacts on cattle production, etc.)reductions or even the complete cessation of inland water transportation, increases in forest wildfires, impacts on forestry (e.g. reduced biomass accumulation, insect attacks and diseases), limitations to energy production (hydropower and cooling), increased energy consumption for cooling, human health impacts, and others. However, positive impacts were also reported in the areas of tourism and open-air activities, viticulture, and solar energy production.


(Yes, tourism goes up, so that's ok then)

And it's hitting the grape vines

Italy top wine maker after big harvest; drought hits Spain - Business Insider


> Spain, though, saw its production fall to 40.6 million hectoliters this year from 53.6 million hectoliters the year before when a drought ravaged some of the vineyards in southern regions. But even if the output took a pummeling, the quality of the grapes that survived should make for an excellent vintage, said Javier Pozar of the UPA Spanish wine federation.


So all this fine weather has it's advantages...
(I have to drive into a car park and get a ticket from a machine 4 times a week. My arm has only got wet once since I started in March...) 
there are definite disadvantages too. 

And if we all learnt this song...???
http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=557 Posted here with a translation
Que llueva, que llueva
La Virgen de la Cueva
Los pajaritos cantan, 
Las nubes se levantan. 
¡Que sí, que no,
que caiga un chaparrón!


----------



## bob_bob

The UK weather is strange this year. This afternoon temp in my garden (South Wales) was 15c, two of my Cherry Trees are in blossom, Daffs and Tulips are coming up and the 'feeders' on my strawberry plants have had a spurt of growth... but the rain is very very heavy at times.

Not long to go for another trip to Gran Canaria, soak up some vit D


----------



## Lynn R

Don't you just love Daily Mail headlines - their story about the UK weather today said "Britain swelters in 17 degrees". I think swelters is pushing it a bit!

As the overnight low temperatures appear to be much the same as here, I wonder should I go to the trouble of writing to Iain Duncan Smith and asking him if we can have our Winter Fuel Allowance back?


----------



## Isobella

Still scaremongering about the weather though. Don't know if it was the Express or Daily Star had a headline something like 'red dust cloud from the Sahara due to hit the U.K.' According to them the ones with asthma would be hospitalised and the healthy ones would be ill. (better than the giant rats though

Was 16C at 5am. In parts of Scotland today. I suppose it is sweltering to them


----------



## Lynn R

Isobella said:


> Still scaremongering about the weather though. Don't know if it was the Express or Daily Star had a headline something like 'red dust cloud from the Sahara due to hit the U.K.' According to them the ones with asthma would be hospitalised and the healthy ones would be ill. (better than the giant rats though
> 
> Was 16C at 5am. In parts of Scotland today. I suppose it is sweltering to them


It's only a matter of weeks since they were printing stories warning people that Britain was in for a really bad winter, isn't it?

I spotted another giant rat story just the other day, rarely a week goes by without one.

It was 11C when I went up to my roof terrace at 9am this morning to hang some washing out, we definitely want our WFA back!


----------



## baldilocks

Lynn R said:


> It's only a matter of weeks since they were printing stories warning people that Britain was in for a really bad winter, isn't it?
> 
> I spotted another giant rat story just the other day, rarely a week goes by without one.
> 
> It was 11C when I went up to my roof terrace at 9am this morning to hang some washing out, we definitely want our WFA back!


But we still have our winter bonus. It seems a bit small compared with other people's bonuses and we probably do more for ours.

I just checked the current temp- it is 21 with 46% humidity. I might as well do a wash and hang it out, it'll be dry by morning.


----------



## eagletwelve

Well this sure is an information packed thread. 

I would call this type of weather moderate. We get the highs and lows in temperature, but nothing too severe.


----------



## Roy C

Just looked at my temperatures app 06:45

Chichester 13, Malaga 7, Torrox 13, London 13, Iznate 7, Petersfield 13, Competa 11
So we are experiencing much the same here in areas I work, live and visit although there are a couple of cooler places in Spain that are normally on my radar.


----------



## Roy C

Ans the weather isn't great either


----------



## baldilocks

Roy C said:


> Ans the weather isn't great either


We know. Here, where we are in Spain, we are having to put up with those boring blue skies and sunshine, it fair gets you down.


----------



## Roy C

baldilocks said:


> We know. Here, where we are in Spain, we are having to put up with those boring blue skies and sunshine, it fair gets you down.


I won't type what I'm thinking  I hope you are enjoying the blue skies and sunshine of course, as we will be soon.


----------



## Rabbitcat

It's great to hear, achoo!, achoo!- that you Spanish home owners are enjoying your lovely homes, cough,cough,splutter- and great weather.

I do not want any of you worrying, achoo, about the likes of me, cough, splutter- second-homeless and shivering here in Ireland.

Better go now, and see if I can find a hedge to shelter under to get some sleep and hopefully have that dream, achoo!, of a well off forum member with a nice house ( most areas considered) , messaging me to invite me for a 5 month free Xmas break. Cough, splutter


----------



## Lynn R

We've just met a couple of holiday home owners who arrived from Norway yesterday, and it was 10C there at 4am when they left, so not only the UK and Spain who are having unseasonably warm weather.


----------



## Elyles

Even in the US this year Boston and the rest of the east coast is warm.


----------



## Maureen47

I am so grateful for the unseasonably warm December , we are much further on with outside work that we could have hoped for. It has allowed to strim all the land that the previous owner neglected , get our entrance gates built by the local builders , they are looking great in traditonal stone , hard standing down and gravel delivery on Monday.We are having a gravel party to get it spread , I will supply the food and drink and our friends the labour  I am sure it will change soon but enjoying it at present. To be able to have Menu del Dia outside in December is fab ! Got the veg plot area cleared today and now need to do some homework re planting. Our house is built on what was orange groves in the past so thankfully the soil is good and plentiful. I shall have a go and see what happens ! We now have a working log burner so the at least the house is toasty when the sun goes down in the colder evenings , Life is good


----------



## Pesky Wesky

Weather prediction for winter 2015-16 in general terms with reference to Spain and Europe
¿Cómo será este invierno 2015-2016? - Noticias de El tiempo


----------



## Lynn R

It`s rainiing! First time for weeks and weeks (I am reliably informed that it rained quite hard during the night as well, although I slept through it. The locals will be pleased as they've been muttering about the unnatural weather and the lack of rain.


----------



## AllHeart

Lynn R said:


> It`s rainiing! First time for weeks and weeks (I am reliably informed that it rained quite hard during the night as well, although I slept through it. The locals will be pleased as they've been muttering about the unnatural weather and the lack of rain.


Yeah, I heard it raining cats and dogs this morning at 5 AM. FINALLY!


----------



## Elyles

It's been raining here for three days. Guess it is just now getting to you. Snowing now


----------



## AllHeart

Elyles said:


> It's been raining here for three days. Guess it is just now getting to you. Snowing now


I'll take your rain any day! I've had enough experience with snow in my lifetime. So you can keep your snow to yourself!


----------



## gus-lopez

Elyles said:


> It's been raining here for three days. Guess it is just now getting to you. Snowing now


it's bound to be up there  Just noticed where you live . I pass by there when using the tunnel. But I hasten to add usually when the weather is warmer.


----------



## baldilocks

Clouds are down and it has been pouring down which is bad bad news. We needed the rain back in October and November to plump up the olives, it's no good now - makes the mountainsides wet and slippery so harvesting many of the olives is extremely dangerous. 

Just had the power off for about 15 minutes, missed the bottom step and landed on my left knee which didn't like the experience - my small torch was on the bedside cabinet which was no use to me when I needed it.


----------



## passiflora

Might have rained hard where you are but along the coast, we had a dribble! It was also very warm yesterday.


----------



## Lynn R

passiflora said:


> Might have rained hard where you are but along the coast, we had a dribble! It was also very warm yesterday.


It was warm here too yesterday, 26C at midday, but much cooler today and feeling more so because it's been windy.


----------



## AllHeart

I just stepped out to run some errands, and see that despite the rain people are lined up along the street to see the parade that will be coming soon for Kings´ Day. My friends in Southern Ontario have tons of snow now, and it's -17 C right now! Yikes!  Viva España! :clap2:


----------



## Elyles

AllHeart said:


> I just stepped out to run some errands, and see that despite the rain people are lined up along the street to see the parade that will be coming soon for Kings´ Day. My friends in Southern Ontario have tons of snow now, and it's -17 C right now! Yikes!  Viva España! :clap2:


I remember once in Wyoming it got 47 below and the next day was 15 below and I thought it a heat wave. I had my share of shoveling and plowing myself but here it mainly only snows at higher elevations about 20+ km from here. When it snows in town it melts by the next day.


----------



## Madliz

I was snowed on in the pueblo this morning and there are a couple of centimeters forecast for tonight. It's currently 3º. 
Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe after Switzerland, which does make for beautiful scenery, but I do envy you lot on the coast sometimes!


----------



## baldilocks

Madliz said:


> I was snowed on in the pueblo this morning and there are a couple of centimeters forecast for tonight. It's currently 3º.
> Spain is the second most mountainous country in Europe after Switzerland, which does make for beautiful scenery, but I do envy you lot on the coast sometimes!


I don't - you get too many tourists exercising their flab or frying their blubber in suntan oil like a load of walruses hauled up onto the beach.


----------



## baldilocks

Well we've just had our second black-out of the evening fortunately, quite short - just 2 minutes) I am no hoping we don't get any more because I'm about to settle down to watch "The Girl Who Played With Fire" dvd


----------



## AllHeart

Elyles said:


> I remember once in Wyoming it got 47 below and the next day was 15 below and I thought it a heat wave. I had my share of shoveling and plowing myself but here it mainly only snows at higher elevations about 20+ km from here. When it snows in town it melts by the next day.


I know what you mean by it´s all relative as to what´s a heat wave, depending on what you´re used to. People would be in shorts and light tops now here in Malaga if this was the weather in Ontario! When I was 19, I lived a year in Winnipeg, Manitoba, AKA Winterpeg, where it was normal to have -30 C in the winter. And the wind chill factor was absolutely brutal because it's so flat around there.

I had my fill of snow too, although I do miss a fresh heavy snowfall when the snow is sparkling and all sounds are absorbed by the snow. There´s no quiet quite like that and nothing is quite as spectacular to see as that. Or when the trees have all their branches outlined in ice and they are glistening. But those days are rare in the winter, where most days I'm more than happy to leave behind as a distant memory.


----------



## Lynn R

baldilocks said:


> I don't - you get too many tourists exercising their flab or frying their blubber in suntan oil like a load of walruses hauled up onto the beach.


Ah, but just a few km inland, as we are, we get the good weather without the tourists! Well, not many of them anyway, and those there are have come to look at historic buildings and are therefore properly dressed at least.

I am quite happy never to see snow again except on top of the mountains I can see in the distance from my roof terrace.


----------



## baldilocks

SWMBO loves the snow. I used to say to her "But you don't have to get up at 4am clear the snow off the car to get to work and then you don't have to clear the snow off a bus before you can start driving over snow covered roads way out in the country and still run on time."


----------



## Elyles

Barely snowing here now. Just sticking to the cars, nothing else.


----------



## snikpoh

Still no rain here, nor forecast. I think it's nearly been 3 months now!


----------



## The Quilt

Beautiful here in Benalmadena this morning.


----------



## thrax

Finally we have a heavy rain forecast for Saturday and more on Sunday and Monday. But this is only Wednesday and it might change...


----------



## xabiaxica

I translate our local weather guy's forecast from Valenciano into English every day.

I thought he had made a typo this morning when he wrote that our max. temperature today would be 14º, especially since we've had 20º+ for the past few days & overnight lows higher than 14º!

It wasn't a typo - it's FREEZING today


----------



## baldilocks

xabiachica said:


> I translate our local weather guy's forecast from Valenciano into English every day.
> 
> I thought he had made a typo this morning when he wrote that our max. temperature today would be 14º, especially since we've had 20º+ for the past few days & overnight lows higher than 14º!
> 
> It wasn't a typo - it's FREEZING today


You've got 14°???? we've only got 8°!!!!!!!!!


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## passiflora

14 here near Cartagena as well.


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## Lynn R

We have 17 degrees here, but the wind felt cold when I was out earlier. 19 is forecast for tomorrow, but as Thrax said earlier, we are due to get rain at the weekend but temperatures staying much the same. Minimum night-time temperatures are still in double figures, 11 or 12.


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## xabiaxica

baldilocks said:


> You've got 14°???? we've only got 8°!!!!!!!!!


I'm at sea level though!

You're 'up there' somewhere, where you expect it to get cold.

It actually reached 14.1º .... yesterday it was a hair over 21º. Forecast tomorrow & the next few days is back up around 20º again though  

I don't do cold


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## Rabbitcat

I find these posts of 20c temps quite offensive!!!!

Grrrrrrrr!!

Annoyed, chilly Belfast


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## baldilocks

Rabbitcat said:


> I find these posts of 20c temps quite offensive!!!!
> 
> Grrrrrrrr!!
> 
> Annoyed, chilly Belfast


But you've got a forecast 8°, the same as us.


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## Rabbitcat

But it's a Belfast 8- which really means cold miserable and wet, exactly the same as a Belfadt 16, cold miserable and wet


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## Lynn R

I wasn't sure if this should go in the "You Couldn't Make It Up" thread or here ...


Record UK rainfall will not prevent water restrictions, experts warn | Environment | The Guardian


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## carquinyoli

Hola a todos

I am not veteran here and not british (my english confirms it, is obvious). Well, I'll try:
Some users of this forum are interested for the climate of Spain and they mostly are from (or have their references) countries where english is official, predominant or co-official. I searched locations with similar climates (not identical) in these countries.

At first I wanted to focus on Spain and Winter (this is the topic), but I expanded to cover the rest of the year and all of Península Ibérica. If it is a disadvantage, I request to the administrators to place the information in a better place. Very summarized and anti-cliches:


*COAST*

*1 *- PORT BOU TO DENIA. Equinoctial rainfall with summer storms "in crescendo" to norteasth. Heavy storms in autumn. Winter with a January daily mean of 7 °C (45 °F) to 11 °C(52 °F). July daily mean of 23 °C (73 °F) to 25 °C (77 °F). Similar: Contra Costa County in California (US).

*2 *- DENIA TO MALAGA (MELILLA inclusive). Steppe climate with violent storms in autumn. Winter with a January daily mean of 10 °C (50 °F) to 13 °C (55 °F). July daily mean of 24 °C (75 °F) to 27 °C (81 °F). Similar: Akrotiri and Dhekelia area (CY), Port Augusta area (AU).

*3* - MALAGA TO LISBOA (Ceuta and Gibraltar inclusive). Winter maximum in rainfall, abundant sometimes. Arid summer. Winter with a January daily mean of 11 °C (52 °F) to 13 °C (55 °F). July daily average of 22 °C (72 °F) to 26 °C (79 °F). Small diurnal and annual temperature variation. Similar: South Coast of California (US) Adelaide, Perth (AU) Cape Town (ZA).

*4 *- LISBOA TO FERROL. Abundant rainfall in winter with moderated dry summer. Winter with a January daily mean of 9 °C (48 °F) to 12 °C (54 °F). July daily mean of 20 °C (68 °F) to 24 °C (75 °F). Small diurnal temperature variation. Similar: North Coast of California (US), South Coast of Oregon (US).

*5 *- FERROL TO IRUN. Rainfall is fairly regular, occurring throughout the year. Winter with a January daily mean of 8 °C (46 °F) to 11 °C (52 °F). July daily mean of 19 °C (66 °F) to 21 °C (70 °F). Small diurnal and annual temperature variation. Ocasionally: hot wind of the south (surada). Similar: West Coast (NZ), Saint Helier (UK), Valentia Island (IR), Tasmania Coast and Victoria Coast (AU).

*6* - ISLAS BALEARES. Heavy storms in autumn. More rainy and windy (Tramontana) in Menorca and North Mallorca that in South Mallorca and Ibiza. Winter with a January daily mean of 10 °C (50 °F) to 12 °C (54 °F). July daily mean of 25 °C (77 °F) to 26 °C (79 °F). Similar: Malta.

*7 *-ISLAS CANARIAS. Little rain in winter, arid the rest of the year. Frequent drizzle in the north side of the mountains. Winter with a January daily mean of 14 ºC (57º F) to 18 °C (64 °F). July daily mean of 22 ºC (72 ºF) to 25 °C (77 °F). Small diurnal and annual temperature variation. Similiar Coast: Central Coast of West (AU). Similar inland: Mountains Central Coast of California (US).


*INLAND*

*8 *- INLAND GALICIA. INLAND NORTH PORTUGAL. INLAND ASTURIAS. INLAND SANTANDER. INLAND EUSKADI. Rainy throughout the year. Drier summer in South Galicia and Portugal latitude. Winter with a January daily mean of 4 °C (39 °F) to 8 °C (46 °F). July daily mean of 18 °C (64 °F) to 22 °C (72 °F). Similar: Villamette River region in Oregon (US), Christchurch area (NZ).

*9* - WEST AND SOUTH CASTILLA Y LEÓN. Scantily rainy summer and moderated rains the rest of the year. Winter with +5 -15 snow days in the plain. Snow line situated at approximately 1500 meters above see level in Sistema Ibérico and Cordillera Central. Winter with a January daily mean of 3 ºC (37 ºF) to 4 ºC (38 ºF). July daily mean of 20 ºC (68 ºF) to 23 ºC (73 ºF). Small diurnal temperature variation. Similar: Southeast Vancouver Island (CA).

*10* - EAST CASTILLA Y LEÓN. SOUTH SANTANDER. SOUTH EUSKADI. NORTH NAVARRA. SOUTH LA RIOJA. Moderated rains all the year. Cool and misty winter with +10 -25 snow days in the plain. Snow line situated at approximately 1400 meters above sea level in the Cordillera Cantábrica. Winter with a January daily mean of 3 °C (37 °F) to 5 °C (39 °F). Small diurnal temperature variation. July daily mean of 19 °C (66 °F) to 22 °C (72 °F). Large diurnal temperature variation. Similar: Southeast England (GB).

*11* - SOUTHERN NAVARRA, NORTH LA RIOJA. ARAGÓN, ANDORRA, WEST CATALUNYA, INLAND COMUNITAT VALENCIANA, EAST CASTILLA-LA MANCHA. Steppe on the plains crossed by the Túria, Júcar, Ebro and tributaries. Foggy and windy winter in the Valle del Ebro (Cierzo). Rainier in the Pirineos and the Sistema Ibérico. Snow line situated at approximately 1500 meters above sea level. Winter with a January daily mean of 2 º C (36 °F) to 7 °C (45 °F). July daily mean of 20 °C (68 °F) to 25 °C (77 °F). Large diurnal and annual temperature variation. Similar: Medford and Bend regions in Oregon, Reno area in Nevada, Northwest Texas and west Oklahoma, US (except twisters), Canberra area (AU).

*12* - INTERIOR NORTHEAST CATALUNYA. Stormy precipitation summer is equal or overcomes winter precipitation. Winter with a January daily mean of 3 °C (37 °F) to 7 °C (45 °F). July daily mean of 20 °C (68 °F) to 24 °C (75 °F). Large annual temperature variation. Snow line situated at approximately 1700 meters above sea level in Pirineos Orientales. Similar: Appalachian Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountains (US), Blue Mountains (AU), Kashmir Valley (IN).

*13 *- MADRID, WEST CASTILLA-LA MANCHA, EXTREMADURA, INLAND ANDALUCIA OCCIDENTAL. INLAND SOUTH PORTUGAL. Maximum rainfall in autumn-winter. Arid summer. Winter with a January daily mean of 5 °C ( 41 °F) to 9 ºC ( 48 °F) . July daily mean of 26 °C ( 79 °F) to 28 °C ( 82 °F). Snow line situated at approximately 1800 meters above sea level. Similar: Sacramento Valley in California (US).

*14* - INLAND ANDALUCIA ORIENTAL. INLAND MURCIA. Steppe with little equinoctial rainfall. More rainfall in mountains and snow line situated at approximately 2200 meters above sea level (Sierra Nevada for example). Winter with a January daily mean of 7 °C ( 45 °F) to 10 °C (50 °F). July daily mean of 26 °C ( 79 °F) to 28 °C (82°F). Similar: San Joaquin Valley. San Bernardino area in California (US ), Inland West Cape (ZA).


I hope the text is understandable and that it is helpful.


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## baldilocks

> 13 - MADRID, WEST CASTILLA-LA MANCHA, EXTREMADURA, INLAND ANDALUCIA OCCIDENTAL. INLAND SOUTH PORTUGAL. Maximum rainfall in autumn-winter. Arid summer. Winter with a January daily mean of 5 °C ( 41 °F) to 9 ºC ( 48 °F) . July daily mean of 26 °C ( 79 °F) to 28 °C ( 82 °F). Snow line situated at approximately 1800 meters above sea level. Similar: Sacramento Valley in California (US).
> 
> 14 - INLAND ANDALUCIA ORIENTAL. INLAND MURCIA. Steppe with little equinoctial rainfall. More rainfall in mountains and snow line situated at approximately 2200 meters above sea level (Sierra Nevada for example). Winter with a January daily mean of 7 °C ( 45 °F) to 10 °C (50 °F). July daily mean of 26 °C ( 79 °F) to 28 °C (82°F). Similar: San Joaquin Valley. San Bernardino area in California (US ), Inland West Cape (ZA).


Sorry but the temperatures are not that moderate with winter temperatures normally 0-8°C and summer temperature normally 30-42°C. Apart from the high sierras, snow is normally down to about 1000- 1200 m.amsl. 2015 has been exceptional with no extremes at all. Some years, there can be prolonged heavy precipitation.


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## Pesky Wesky

> *13 *- MADRID, WEST CASTILLA-LA MANCHA, EXTREMADURA, INLAND ANDALUCIA OCCIDENTAL. INLAND SOUTH PORTUGAL. Maximum rainfall in autumn-winter. Arid summer. Winter with a January daily mean of 5 °C ( 41 °F) to 9 ºC ( 48 °F) . July daily mean of 26 °C ( 79 °F) to 28 °C ( 82 °F). Snow line situated at approximately 1800 meters above sea level. Similar: Sacramento Valley in California (US).


Have to agree with baldi, this is not realistic.
I live at 880m and, in a normal winter will get @ 3 snowfalls which will cause problems on the roads and maybe 3 more which are not that heavy or that turn into slush. I regularly scrape ice off the car from Nov onwards -this winter only 3 times


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## carquinyoli

Hi Pesky

The climatic winter snow line is the point above which snow and ice cover the ground all o mostly throughout the winter. Tree days is not sufficientis. Navacerrada ok.


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## carquinyoli

Horror : "three days is not sufficient" not "tree".

I need five post minimum to attach a complementary map. I'm going to get it.


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## Elyles

Been raining here almost every day. Supposed to snow here today in Jaca. Pitiful ski year. Just the minimum at Astun and hardly any at Candachu.


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## Pesky Wesky

carquinyoli said:


> Hi Pesky
> 
> The climatic winter snow line is the point above which snow and ice cover the ground all o mostly throughout the winter. Tree days is not sufficientis. Navacerrada ok.


Oh, ok. I didn't know the correct meaning of snowline.


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## baldilocks

Carquinyoli, The climate is very much affected by the altitude. We live at 723m and our climate is very different from Andujar 40km North of here and only 211m - temperatures can be as much as 15° different. 

We live in the Sierra Sur de Jaen with altitudes ranging from about 300m up to about 1600m so there is a wide range of temperatures, winds and precipitation.


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## Alcalaina

On the website for AEMET, the Spanish weather service, you can see the average temperature, hours of sunshine, rainfall etc, by month, over a 20-year period. It's in English. Just click on where you live or enter the name of the nearest city.
Standard climate Values - Agencia Estatal de Meteorología - AEMET. Gobierno de España


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## carquinyoli

Elyles said:


> Been raining here almost every day. Supposed to snow here today in Jaca. Pitiful ski year. Just the minimum at Astun and hardly any at Candachu.


Stable weather in your zone in the next days, Elyles. In the past, the snow and the cold barracks of Jaca, la Seu d'Urgell and Pirineos were the nigthmare of the "reclutas" (enforced conscription) Spanish, especially for the southern guys.


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## carquinyoli

baldilocks said:


> Carquinyoli, The climate is very much affected by the altitude. We live at 723m and our climate is very different from Andujar 40km North of here and only 211m - temperatures can be as much as 15° different.
> 
> We live in the Sierra Sur de Jaen with altitudes ranging from about 300m up to about 1600m so there is a wide range of temperatures, winds and precipitation.


I know a little bit about the place where you live, Baldilock. Last year there was a weather station in Castillo de Locubín connected to Meteoclimatic. In Alcalá la Real they are two in the current year. You're right in the diversity. There are many microclimates in a small zone but I base on general information. The olive crop is a common denominator in this region and the sample of a common climate.


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## Elyles

carquinyoli said:


> Stable weather in your zone in the next days, Elyles. In the past, the snow and the cold barracks of Jaca, la Seu d'Urgell and Pirineos were the nigthmare of the "reclutas" (enforced conscription) Spanish, especially for the southern guys.


I heard that. A couple of years ago was an exceptional ski season here. My wife continues with it but I had to give it up due to cervical surgery this last year.


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## carquinyoli

Map attached to post number *189*:


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