Average Weather in Funchal Portugal

1. World
2. Portugal
3. Madeira
4. Funchal
5. Funchal

In Funchal, the summers are comfortable, arid, and mostly clear; the winters are long, cool, dry, and partly cloudy; and it is windy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 54°F to 76°F and is rarely below 50°F or above 79°F.

The warm season lasts for 2.9 months, from July 7 to October 5, with an average daily high temperature above 73°F. The hottest day of the year is August 25, with an average high of 76°F and low of 67°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.3 months, from December 12 to April 22, with an average daily high temperature below 64°F. The coldest day of the year is February 17, with an average low of 54°F and high of 62°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Funchal, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Funchal begins around May 15 and lasts for 4.1 months, ending around September 17. On July 22, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 96% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 4% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 17 and lasts for 7.9 months, ending around May 15. On December 12, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 52% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 48% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Funchal varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 5.9 months, from October 11 to April 8, with a greater than 9% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 18% on December 7.

The drier season lasts 6.1 months, from April 8 to October 11. The smallest chance of a wet day is 1% on July 25.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 18% on December 7.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Funchal experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 6.6 months, from September 28 to April 17, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around December 12, with an average total accumulation of 1.4 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from April 17 to September 28. The least rain falls around July 19, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Funchal varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 10 hours, 0 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 14 hours, 18 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 6:59 AM on June 12, and the latest sunrise is 1 hour, 23 minutes later at 8:22 AM on October 28. The earliest sunset is at 6:01 PM on December 4, and the latest sunset is 3 hours, 18 minutes later at 9:19 PM on June 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Funchal during 2017, starting in the spring on March 26, lasting 7.1 months, and ending in the fall on October 29.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

Funchal experiences some seasonal variation in the perceived humidity.

The muggier period of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from July 4 to November 7, during which time the comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable at least 5% of the time. The muggiest day of the year is September 19, with muggy conditions 18% of the time.

The least muggy day of the year is April 12, when muggy conditions are essentially unheard of.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Funchal experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.3 months, from October 28 to May 6, with average wind speeds of more than 6.6 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is March 13, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.7 months, from May 6 to October 28. The calmest day of the year is September 11, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.7 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Funchal varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 10 months, from February 4 to December 4, with a peak percentage of 90% on July 17. The wind is most often from the east for 2.0 months, from December 4 to February 4, with a peak percentage of 38% on January 1.

Funchal is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 2.9 months, from July 26 to October 24, with an average temperature above 72°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is September 7, with an average temperature of 74°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.3 months, from January 3 to May 12, with an average temperature below 66°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is March 4, with an average temperature of 64°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.8 months, from April 30 to August 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.9 kWh. The brightest day of the year is July 5, with an average of 8.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from October 31 to February 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 3.7 kWh. The darkest day of the year is December 20, with an average of 2.6 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Funchal are 32.666 deg latitude, -16.925 deg longitude, and 1,043 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Funchal contains extreme variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 3,396 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 1,161 feet. Within 10 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,073 feet). Within 50 miles also contains extreme variations in elevation (6,102 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Funchal is covered by artificial surfaces (69%) and trees (27%), within 10 miles by water (47%) and trees (27%), and within 50 miles by water (96%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Funchal, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There is only a single weather station, Madeira Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Funchal.

At a distance of 15 kilometers from Funchal, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records.

The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Funchal according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.