Climate Madeira
One of the most beautiful assets of the archipelago is its eternal spring! Given its subtropical latitude, the archipelago enjoys a temperate oceanic climate, mild and mild all year round. So forget the cold winter or the summer heat wave to enjoy the legendary mildness of this floating garden. The balance of the Madeiran climate is maintained by the meeting between the warm waters of the Gulf Stream and the colder currents of the Canary Islands, with the influence of the trade winds, these regular winds coming from the north and north-east. The average atmospheric temperature varies between 13 and 20 °C in winter and between 15 and 26 °C in summer. Neither too cold nor too hot, therefore, Madeira's climate is conducive to the blossoming of a nature that is as diverse as it is opulent. A gentle Eden with, however, climatic variations and dissimilarities relating to differences in altitude and exposure.
North/South disparities
While the weather is almost always fine in Funchal and along the entire south coast, it is common for the north coast to be cloudy and rainy. You can therefore leave the capital under a radiant sun to land in a rainy panorama enveloped by a thick fog (better to plan ahead and always equip yourself accordingly!). In any case, the north of the island is generally colder, wetter and more humid than the south. The trade winds, which are initially dry winds, bring moisture-laden air to Madeira on contact with the ocean and "patch" it up on the northern side of the island. This coast, known as the "windward" coast, forces the air to rise; the air often condenses (mist) and, depending on the season, precipitates more or less (rain). Once the ridges have been crossed, some of the moisture is discharged. This phenomenon is at the origin of the marked contrast between the two coasts. There is also an average temperature difference of 3 to 4 °C between the southern and northern coasts.
At altitude
The higher you climb, the lower the temperatures drop (not a surprise, but a fact that we would be wrong to underestimate during our mountain escapades!). Depending on the altitude, we can define three climatic zones on the island: a zone with a subtropical climate between 0 and 300 m, a zone with a Mediterranean climate up to 750 m, and then, above this altitude, a temperate zone with a cold tendency. Clouds generally arrive from the north. They are then stopped by the mountainous relief. They climb the slopes up to about 800 m and then, as they accumulate, reach 1,300 m. In fact, it rains in this area while at lower and higher altitudes the weather remains sunny. The north of the island therefore has much greater water reserves than the south, which may not receive rain for six months. What's more, the nature of the rock forces the water to concentrate in underground aquifers, only to reappear on the north side of the island, due to the inclination of the geological layers. This geographical peculiarity explains the presence of levadas, or irrigation channels, which direct the water towards the south of the island. Be that as it may, the island is not close to running out of water: it has a regular natural underground reservoir with an estimated volume of 200 million cubic metres!
Wind and rain gauge
In Madeira, the autumn is stormy and the winter rainy despite the good sunshine and unlike the Canary Islands, which only get the rains in November. Rain is more frequent in the mountains than on the coast, especially between March and October. But rest assured, it remains relatively low, as it only rains about sixty days a year in Madeira. This is still enough to water its tropical nature and its laurel forest. From July to September, the hottest months, the southern side of the island and the plains record a very low rate of rainfall. Between May and September, it rains between 0 and 2 days per month. From the end of September, cyclonic depressions follow one another and give rise to heavy rain and heavy showers. Almost half of the rainfall is recorded during the autumn (compared to 2% during the summer). The wind, on the other hand, blows on the island throughout the year, whether it comes from the east, the ocean or the mountains. This is evidenced by the incredible landings that regularly shake visitors to the archipelago! The Portuguese Meteorological Institute (IPMA) can issue a red alert if the island is hit by heavy rainfall or strong winds.
