Stable, but different
Since Madeira lies in the middle of the Atlantic, the archipelago has a mild and spring-like climate all year round - especially on the south coast of the island. Even in the winter months the thermometer rarely drops below 16 ° C, in summer the island has a very pleasant average temperature of 22 ° C.
It looks very different on the north coast and in the mountains: strong winds from the north bring clouds and rain. In winter there are mostly deep foothills and in summer the trade winds. Temperatures change from a height of 500 m and it can be up to 5 ° C colder. Please take this into account when choosing your clothes and always take a jacket (rain jacket) or a sweater with you. The mountain range runs in the middle of the island and usually keeps the bad weather away from the south coast. Therefore the sun can shine in the south and only a few kilometers further it is cloudy and rainy.
Sometimes there is also snow on Madeira - but very rarely. Even on the highest peaks of the island, precipitation usually comes down as rain. Precipitation amounts are 3.000 mm in the north, but only around 650 mm in the south. In the eastern part, on the Ponta São Lorenço peninsula or on the sister island of Porto Santo, the quantities are only around 350 mm. The rainiest time is winter, the least rainy summer (June to September). However, there are few really rainy days in the south of Madeira or on Porto Santo, as the weather is quite stable in all seasons.
Sometimes the wind changes and comes from the southeast. The Leste blows very warm and dry and brings the fine, reddish desert dust from the Sahara across the Atlantic. The sky is then hazy from dust or sand, the air is stuffy and temperatures can rise to over 30 ° C in summer.
