Climate and Weather in Madrid, Spain

The climate of Madrid

What is the capital of Spain? Madrid is the largest city and capital of Spain. The city is located in the central part of Spain in the autonomous community of Madrid. It is a fairly young city by Spanish standards and is only mentioned for the first time in the ninth century AD. It was the Moors who had a palace built here and thus gave the starting signal for today’s Madrid. Some highlights in the city include the Royal Palace, the Museo Nacional del Prado, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Parque del Buen Retiro and the Plaza Mayor. Madrid is known for its vibrant nightlife, many dining options and of course for its two major football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid.

Madrid has a continental climate, which is partly influenced by a Mediterranean climate. This means that winters can be cold and summers can be warm to hot and the temperature can sometimes rise above 40 degrees Celsius. However, the height of the city of Madrid ensures that the nights cool down a bit so that the worst of the heat disappears. The contrast between the highest and lowest temperature within the same 24-hour period can therefore be quite large. You notice this especially in spring, on days when it gets quite warm during the day, but cools down well at night. See abbreviations for Madrid.

To escape the hot summers in Madrid, many locals have a second home along the Spanish coast. The Costa Blanca is especially popular among the Madrilenians. It is much more bearable there in July and August than in the metropolis.

Precipitation

Madrid is a fairly dry destination. The average annual sum of precipitation is about 420 millimeters. There can be quite a big difference from year to year. Some years are exceptionally dry, with less than 300 millimeters of precipitation recorded. Other years can be remarkably wet, with a final precipitation sum approaching 600mm. The last quarter of the year is usually the wettest. Summer, which lasts from June to September in Madrid, is the driest period. In July and August there are occasional showers or thunderstorms, but mainly rainy days do not occur in these summer months.

Snow

In winter there is a chance that it will snow in Madrid. It is not usual. In the event that snow falls, that is a reason for the Madrilenians to go outside and capture this on photo or video. That says enough about the chance of winter precipitation.

In January 2021, Madrid was hit by exceptional snowfall. In a period when the air was remarkably cold over Spain, the storm Filomena brought in softer and above all moister air. This resulted in a pack of snow in Madrid on 8 and 9 January 2021 that was 50 to 60 centimeters thick in some places, unprecedented amounts for Madrid. The altitude of 667 meters above sea level means that it can get a bit colder in winter and that winter precipitation is a possibility, but winter weather like this is unprecedented for Madrid. Tens of centimeters of snow is something that normally only occurs once or twice in a century in the Spanish capital.

Climate figures

The figures below are based on long-term average climate statistics. The temperatures are displayed in degrees Celsius (°C).

	maximum temperature	minimum temperature	hours of sunshine per day	days of rainfall per month
January	10℃	2℃	4	11
February	12℃	2℃	5	11
March	15℃	4℃	6	10
April	18℃	6℃	7	11
May	22℃	10℃	9	9
June	28℃	14℃	10	6
July	32℃	17℃	11	3
August	32℃	17℃	11	4
September	27℃	14℃	8	6
October	21℃	9℃	6	9
November	14℃	5℃	5	11
December	10℃	4℃	4	11

The weather in Madrid

Here you will find the weather forecast for Madrid. View the current weather in Madrid and the forecast for the coming days, such as temperatures, the chance of precipitation, the wind direction and the wind strength. With this weather data you can see what kind of weather you can expect in Madrid. Based on the climate statistics, we describe the weather per month in Madrid. This is not a long-term forecast, but gives the average weather forecast for all months of the year. Do you want to see the detailed weather forecast for Madrid? On the page with extra weather information we show the chance of snow, the wind chill, visibility, UV strength, air pressure and more good weather information.

An average weather picture per month can be compiled on the basis of long-term climate statistics, certain weather patterns and specific events.

January weather

In January, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 10 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in January is 2 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in January at this destination is around 4 hours per day. Within the whole month there is rainfall for about 11 days. If you look at the long-term averages, that means that there will not be much precipitation this month.

February weather

In the month of February, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 12 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in February is 2 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in February at this destination is around 5 hours per day. Within the whole month there is rainfall for about 11 days. If you look at the long-term averages, that means that there will not be much precipitation this month.

March weather

In the month of March, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 15 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in March is 4 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in March at this destination is around 6 hours per day. Within the whole month there is precipitation for about 10 days. If you look at the long-term averages, that means that there will not be much precipitation this month.

The weather in April

In the month of April, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 18 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in April is 6 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in April at this destination is around 7 hours per day. Within the whole month there is rainfall for about 11 days. If you look at the long-term averages, that means that there will not be much precipitation this month.

May weather

In the month of May, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 22 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in May is 10 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in May in this destination is around 9 hours per day. Within the whole month there is precipitation for about 9 days. If you look at the long-term averages, that means that there will not be much precipitation this month.

The weather in June

In the month of June, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 28 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in June is 14 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in June at this destination is around 10 hours per day. Within the whole month there is precipitation for about 6 days. If you look at the long-term averages, this means little precipitation in this month.

The weather in July

In July, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 32 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in July is 17 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in July at this destination is around 11 hours per day. Within the whole month there is precipitation for about 3 days. If you look at the long-term averages, this means little precipitation in this month.

The weather in August

In the month of August, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 32 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in August is 17 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in August in this destination is around 11 hours per day. Within the whole month there is precipitation for about 4 days. If you look at the long-term averages, this means little precipitation in this month.

The weather in September

In the month of September, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 27 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in September is 14 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in September in this destination is around 8 hours per day. Within the whole month there is precipitation for about 6 days. If you look at the long-term averages, this means little precipitation in this month.

The weather in October

In October, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 21 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in October is 9 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in October at this destination is around 6 hours per day. Within the whole month there is precipitation for about 9 days. If you look at the long-term averages, that means that there will not be much precipitation this month.

The weather in November

In November, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 14 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in November is 5 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in November at this destination is around 5 hours per day. Within the whole month there is rainfall for about 11 days. If you look at the long-term averages, that means that there will not be much precipitation this month.

December weather

In the month of December, the average maximum temperature in Madrid is around 10 degrees Celsius. The average minimum temperature in December is 4 degrees. The number of hours that the sun is visible in December at this destination is around 4 hours per day. Within the whole month there is rainfall for about 11 days. If you look at the long-term averages, that means that there will not be much precipitation this month.