SUNSHINE GUIDE TO MADRID, SPAIN

SEASONS:  Madrid has a four-season year.  Spring (mid-March through mid-May) brings lengthening days and renewed vegetative growth.  Summer (mid-May through the end of September) is a season of sun, heat, and dust.  Autumn (October through mid-November) sees shortening days and the first frosts.  Winter (mid-November through mid-March) means short days, freezing temperatures and cold rains.   

SUNNIEST MONTHS:  Madrid is a sunny city.  Every month of the year gets at least half of the available sunshine--except December.  You can expect 64% of the year's daylight hours will be sunny--from a high of 83% in July, to a "low" of 48% in December.  

	For the year as a whole, one day in three will be clear and bright.  This will range from nineteen days in July to seven in March.  

WARMEST MONTHS:  Late June through early September.  During these months, afternoon temperatures are hot to very hot, but the low afternoon humidities make the sensible temperatures (the ones you actually feel) up to 4° lower than the table temperatures.  The hottest actual temperature of the year will be around 98° (it will feel like 97°), and will probably occur in July.  

	Although the temperatures drop fairly rapidly after the summer sun goes down, the nights are short and don't get much cooler than "mild".  From June through September, most nights will be hot enough that you will sleep better with some sort of room-cooling.  

COOLEST MONTHS:  Late November through the middle of March.  At this time of year, you can expect frosty mornings about three days a week.  Afternoons almost always warm up above freezing, however, no matter how cold the night and early morning.  The coldest temperature of the year will be around 21°, and will probably occur in January.  

	Flurries and light snows are common enough most (not all) winters, but rarely stay on the ground past noon of the following day.  Some winters get no snowfalls, some may get more than a foot.  The average is three inches, but this doesn't mean much.  Year to year variability is considerable.  

DRIEST MONTHS:  The whole year is actually pretty dry, but July and August are virtually rainless in many years.  Some 80% of the year's days will get no measurable precipitation; that is, they will get less than a hundredth of an inch.  July will have 93% such days, whereas November will get only 73%.  A "dry day" in the table, however, is one with less than a tenth of an inch--a more useful measure.  It takes at least that much to wet the ground under the trees.  

THINGS TO KNOW:  The shimmering of the surface air due to intense heating during the summer combines with the wind-swept dust of that dry season to create a gray haze called, calina.  This haze distorts the landscape and often obscures the view.  

	Clear skies and calms during the cooler months produce strong temperature inversions, with the denser cooler air staying close to the ground. This can result in nighttime and early morning fog.  This fog usually (but not always) burns off by noon.  

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  Copyright 1995 by Patrick J. Tyson, Box 492787, Redding CA 96049.  All rights reserved. 
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