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The climate of Portugal
Although Portugal is situated on the Iberian peninsula just like Spain, it has a different climate. In general, it is slightly colder in Portugal than in Spain because of the cooler water of the Atlantic Ocean. The western part of Portugal has a maritime climate; the southern part of Portugal (The Algarve) has a Mediterranean climate. according to the Köppen climate classification the entire country with the exception of the northern part has a Mediterranean climate with warm and dry summers and the northern part a moderate maritime climate with cooler and dry summers.

Climate information of places and areas in Portugal
The climate information on this page is only brief. Specific information about weather and climate can be found on the climate pages per area or town. As for Portugal the following climate information is available:

Precipitation
During the summer precipitation figures are fairly low in Portugal, only a few tens of millimeters of precipitation can be expected per month. Especially the Algarve has low precipitation figures during the summer. Some areas in Portugal have high annual precipitation figures. The areas surrounding Mount Estrela have an annual precipitation figure of 2,500 millimeters. The mountainous area in the north gets about 2,000 millimeters of annual precipitation. When you travel from north to south along the coast precipitation figures get lower. Porto gets more than 1,200 millimeters of annual precipitation, Lisbon about 800 millimeters and the Algarve only 500 millimeters of annual precipitation.

Heat
It doesn’t get as hot in Portugal as, for instance in the surroundings of Seville, Spain. However, peaks of 40 degrees Celsius are not uncommon. Especially in the interior and in the eastern part of the Algarve temperatures of 35-40 degrees Celsius may be recorded in July and August. Along the coast the heat is quite bearable. Even when it is very hot along the coast it doesn’t get muggy because of low humidity figures.

Winters
Winters are mild, especially in the coastal areas. Snowfall is uncommon in the Algarve; during the day it is often very pleasant and spring-like with temperatures of 15-18 degrees Celsius. The further north or the higher you travel the less pleasant winters get. In the mountains both snowfall and subzero temperatures are not uncommon. From October till April rain falls on a frequent basis, especially in the mountains.

Hurricanes
Fortunately there is no direct risk of hurricanes in Portugal. However, hurricanes may indirectly influence the weather in Portugal. Depressions may reach Portugal causing high precipitation figures and fierce winds.

The Azores
The Azores are an archipelago west of the mainland of Portugal. This archipelago influences the weather in the rest of Europe. During the summer the force and size of a high pressure area above the Azores influences the weather in large parts of Europe. The Azores are influenced by the warm Gulf Stream. It is almost always spring-like on this archipelago with temperatures of 16-24 degrees.

Madeira
The island Madeira is also known as the island of the everlasting spring because temperatures are always pleasant without getting too hot. However, spring-like does not necessarily mean dry. Especially from October till May precipitation figures may be high, especially in the northern part of the island.

Climate figures
Throughout Portugal several climate figures and temperatures can be recorded. The figures below are for the capital Lisbon and cannot be seen as an average for the country. Please, visit the individual climate pages for climate records on other places in Portugal.

	average  maximum temperature (°C)	average minimum temperature (°C)	average hours of sunshine per day	average days with precipitation per month	average mm precipitation per month	average sea temperature (°C)
January	15	8	5	15		15
February	16	9	5	14		15
March	18	10	7	13		15
April	19	11	8	12		15
May	22	13	9	9		17
June	25	16	10	5		18
July	28	18	11	2		19
August	28	18	11	2		20
September	27	17	9	6		20
October	23	15	7	11		19
November	18	11	5	13		18
December	15	9	5	14		17
= 0-5 mm ● = 6-30 mm ● = 31-60 mm ● = 61-100 mm ● = 101-200 mm ● = over 200 mm = 0-0.2 inches ● = 0.2-1.2 inches ● = 1.2-2.4 inches ● = 2.5-4 inches ● = 4.1-8 inches ● = over 8 inches

More climate information
Climate tables are useful but they don’t give an overall picture of the climate and possible weather conditions during a period of time. How high the chances are of hot or cold weather or hurricanes can often not be found in these tables. This is why we offer extra climate information per month. The figures below can are for the capital Lisbon. Please, visit the individual climate pages for climate records on other places in Portugal.

	chance of (very) hot weather	chance of (very) cool weather	chance of long-term precipitation	chance of hurricanes (cyclones)	chance of sunny days	UV-index
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
click here for the explanation of the symbols

Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.