禁漫天堂

I've read that Portugal actually receives more rainfall per year than the UK (or perhaps, most of the UK), largely in the formats of torrential downpours and thunderstorms, rather than spread out across the year. Is this true?

I guess depends of where in Portugal. In the North it rains a lot.

I used to live in London and never had the need of buying rain boots, or umbrella.. and in Portugal I have all the rain gear, rainboots, umbrella, raincoat, rain trousers...because it rains torrentially. I actually hate the weather because either rains a lot or it's so hot I can't go outside haha.

@Rodrideha

Hi.聽 What do you consider too hot to go outside?聽 We live in Southwest Texas and are moving to Caldas in March, partly to escape the heat here.

@paperclap,

Portugal has a reputation of "300 sunshine days per year". Is this true? Is this countrywide? Or is this the south regions?

It's true that on average there are between 270 and 300 days of sunshine.

I've read that Portugal actually receives more rainfall per year than the UK (or perhaps, most of the UK), largely in the formats of torrential downpours and thunderstorms, rather than spread out across the year. Is this true?

True. The north (Minho and Porto) is much rainier than the south and central Portugal. But rainy days can have high rainfall, from North to South. In most regions, rain is not spread out across the year.

@Jim Garrison,

Caldas da Rainha聽

@JohnnyPT

Thanks.聽 Good info on that page.聽

Thank you for the swift replies!

We're thinking the Castelo Branco region. So, eastern / central.

Is Meteoblue the main weather channel for Portugal?

The main weather channel in this one:

@paperclap,

This may help you. Here's a vlog by a couple from the UK who live on a farm in Castelo Branco.

OK Portugal:

To get a more complete picture you may also like to consider the possible effects of "300聽 days of sunshine" and/or shifting weather patterns here.聽 Some areas are more affected than others but the weather stats don't often reflect this.

There's a lot of data in various forms on their meteorological agency's site, .聽 It will rain some in Castelo Branco during the winter, but I think we can guarantee it won't be like England.聽 I started thinking about departing from the Seattle area where I had lived all my life, when we had 4 months in a row of daily rain.聽 It rains too much here, during the winter, but after a while there's usually a break and it's real pleasant.聽 Then during the summer, it doesn't rain enough.

When it's hot, it can get pretty hot, but as they say, "it's a dry heat."聽 Somewhat, anyway, and it doesn't stay hot around the clock, so - in our area anyway, in central Portugal ca. 40 km from the coast - the mostly masonry houses stay fairly comfortable without air conditioners.聽 But, sure, pretty much guaranteed to go over 100掳F during the summer.

Have read of this Thread Weather in Portugal

@Rodrideha

I would suggest picking a city and enter it into and read about what the place is like.

I entered locations like Porto, Lisbon, and Faro among others. This site will give you the basic data to help you to decide where to visit. Pick your spot then go there for an extended stay during the off-season. This is when it is cooler and more rainy. I chose ponta Drlgada. It is a place that receives 1000mm of rain annually. I'm from the USA and lived near the Upper Mississippi River. This is what is familiar to me. Weather is much different here. It is much warmer.聽 Just before I moved, it was -36鈦癈. With wind chill it felt like -40.聽 In Potugal, it gets down to 11鈦癈 at it's worst. The daily high gets to 15 to 18鈦癈. This is the rainy season too. The dry comes in Summer along with many tourists.

Boa sorte!

Low temperatures in continental Portugal are far below 11掳C.聽 Tonight's forecast has Porto at 11掳C, and everywhere else it's colder - 8掳C in Caldas da Rainha for example.聽 It can freeze.聽 I'm not saying Portugal is a super cold place, but we have cold, wet winters here.聽 Highs go past 40掳.

聽 聽 Low temperatures in continental Portugal are far below 11掳C.聽 Tonight's forecast has Porto at 11掳C, and everywhere else it's colder - 8掳C in Caldas da Rainha for example.聽 It can freeze.聽 I'm not saying Portugal is a super cold place, but we have cold, wet winters here.聽 Highs go past 40掳.聽 聽 聽 聽 -@donn25

- 8掳C in Caldas da Rainha

Am not far away from Caldas but I've never known it be that cold.

?? -8掳C ??

That's punctuation connecting two phrases.聽 It didn't occur to me that anyone would interpret it as a negative value, considering that there are spaces around the dash.聽 Viewed on my browser, Strontium's text quote has been scrambled.

, temperate maritime climate in the mainland north-western highlands and mountains, and in high altitude zones of the Azorean islands; a semi-arid climate in parts of the Beja District far south and in Porto Santo Island, a warm desert climate in the Selvagens Islands and a humid subtropical climate in the western Azores, according to the K枚ppen-Geiger climate classification. It is one of the warmest countries in Europe: the average temperature in mainland Portugal varies from 10鈥�12 掳C (50.0鈥�53.6 掳F) in the mountainous interior north to 16鈥�18 掳C (60.8鈥�64.4 掳F) in the south and on the Guadiana river basin. There are variations from the highlands to the lowlands. The Algarve, separated from the Alentejo region by mountains reaching up to 900 metres (3,000 ft) in Alto da F贸ia, has a climate similar to that of the southern coastal areas of Spain or Southwest Australia.

Annual average rainfall in the mainland varies from just over 3,200 mm (126.0 in) on the Peneda-Ger锚s National Park to less than 500 mm (19.7 in) in southern parts of Alentejo. Mount Pico receives the largest annual rainfall (over 6,250 mm (246.1 in) per year), according to Instituto Portugu锚s do Mar e da Atmosfera.

In some areas, such as the Guadiana basin, annual diurnal average temperatures can be as high as 24.5 掳C (76.1 掳F), and summer's highest temperatures are routinely over 40 掳C (104 掳F). The record high of 47.4 掳C (117.3 掳F) was recorded in Amareleja.

The Marinha Beach in the Algarve is considered by the Michelin Guide, one of the 10 most beautiful beaches in Europe.

Snowfalls occur regularly in the winter in the interior North and Centre, particularly on the mountains. In winter, temperatures may drop below 鈭�10.0 掳C (14.0 掳F). In these places snow can fall any time from October to May. In the South snowfalls are rare but still occur in the highest elevations. While the official absolute minimum by IPMA is 鈭�16.0 掳C (3.2 掳F) in Penhas da Sa煤de and Miranda do Douro, lower temperatures have been recorded. Continental Portugal receives around 2,300-3,200 hours of sunshine annually, an average of 4鈥�6 hours in winter and 10鈥�12 hours in the summer, with higher values in the south-east, south-west, Algarve coast and lower in the north-west.

Portugal's central west and southwest coasts have an extreme ocean seasonal lag; sea temperatures are warmer in October than in July and are their coldest in March. The average sea surface temperature on the west coast of mainland Portugal varies from 14鈥�16 掳C (57.2鈥�60.8 掳F) in January鈭扢arch to 19鈥�21 掳C (66.2鈥�69.8 掳F) in August鈭扥ctober while on the south coast it ranges from 16 掳C (60.8 掳F) in January鈭扢arch and rises in the summer to about 22鈥�23 掳C (71.6鈥�73.4 掳F), occasionally reaching 26 掳C (78.8 掳F). In the Azores, around 16 掳C (60.8 掳F) in February鈭扐pril to 22鈥�24 掳C (71.6鈥�75.2 掳F) in July鈭扴eptember,[74] and in Madeira, around 18 掳C (64.4 掳F) in February鈭扐pril to 23鈥�24 掳C (73.4鈥�75.2 掳F) in August鈭扥ctober.

Azores and Madeira have a subtropical climate, although variations between islands exist. The Madeira and Azorean archipelagos have a narrower temperature range, with annual average temperatures exceeding 20 掳C (68 掳F) in some parts of the coast. Some islands in Azores have drier months in the summer. Consequently, the islands of the Azores have been identified as having a Mediterranean climate, while some islands (such as Flores or Corvo) are classified as Humid subtropical, transitioning into an Oceanic climate at higher altitudes. Porto Santo Island in Madeira has a warm semi-arid climate. The Savage Islands, which are part of the regional territory of Madeira and a nature reserve are unique in being classified as a desert climate with an annual average rainfall of approximately 150 mm (5.9 in).

Hello everyone,

Please note that some posts have been removed from this topic. Let us keep this thread to share about the weather/climate in Portugal.

Thank you

Bhavna

Hi paperclap -

I moved from London to Lisbon 20 months ago so what follows is based on a pretty small sample, but the main surprise to me (and presumably also tourists visiting off-season) is how "ordinary" the autumn and winter weather has been here. "Grim" might be less generous.

March to mid-September: glorious, no question, but 270 days of sunshine suggests much more, and outside of this period, that's not my experience. Heavy rain, thick cloud, strong winds for much of the rest of the year. Maybe I've been unlucky with the last two winters, and I also have to come back to the UK regularly, so maybe this extends to also missing the cloudless spells.

Personally, toughing out three months of being perpetually cold (in an apartment without central heating) is more challenging than a UK winter, assuming you can afford to turn the heating on. Unsurprisingly, the north is both wetter and cooler; I've yet to visit Porto when it hasn't been pouring, so glad I didn't move there!

At the moment, I still consider the trade-off for a gorgeous spring and hot summer worthwhile (before considering what a wonderful place Lisbon is to live generally), but based on my experience, I wouldn't assume that the winter is just a cooler version of the summer.

Yes, now we're back to the contextual experience of the weather.聽 All too often, people find themselves enjoying the mild continental Portugal winter in accommodations that are better suited to Madeira.

It isn't one of those climates where people complain because there aren't any seasons.聽 In the winter, it's cold and wet, and you need to heat the place and in general be prepared for indoor living for a while.

That said, here in central Portugal I regularly eat lunch outside, and through the winter so far it has been OK as often as not.聽 It's a sunny back patio area and I'm wearing a thick wool shirt, but if the sun is shining it's fine and sometimes if it's cloudy.聽 It hasn't been the kind of dismal it got back in Seattle, or as cold.聽 A couple weeks back we had a cold spell that set some ornamental plants back a little with frost damage, but that's about the limit and there isn't much of it.

Hello

This is my first winter in Portugal and do my experience of winter months is limited.聽 We live in central Portugal about 25kms from the sea so this geogrsphical position does affect our climate.

Like Donn25 has stated聽 I can confirm we had and are having a seemingly聽 mild winter.聽 In fact in contrast with having lived in London for 25yrs, I would say this is nothing like a winter there. For example in December on a few days we took our dog for a walk on the beach, you would want to be a very hardy person to do thst in the UK. In January I sat on our South facing varanda in shorts, teashirt abd sunglasses.

All of that said, while days can be more sunny than not, the evenings are cool to cold. Even if the outside temperature only falls to 13 degrees and that is reflected also inside then it will definitely feel v cold. We are fortunate to have heat sources in our house, both a fireplace and reverse air conditioning which we have rarely switched on. In summary you will have cool to cold days/nights made worse if it rains but it is generally聽 more sunny then grim at least where we live and to counter the bad days your house needs to be able to cope. I will finish by saying that I had planned to visit London in January but just couldnt face the miserable weather there!

Roz