The weather in lisbon
In Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, the climate is Mediterranean, mild and rainy in winter, hot and sunny in summer. The position in the far west of Europe and overlooking the ocean, makes the climate particularly mild, compared to other European countries.
Here are the average temperatures:
THE PRECIPITATIONS
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The average precipitation is 710 millimeters per year, and follows a Mediterranean diet, being abundant in autumn and winter, moderate and less frequent in spring, and very rare in summer. For a few years, autumn and winter can be particularly rainy. Here is the average precipitation.
THE SEASONS
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Winter, from December to February, is mild: the average temperature in January is 11.5 ° C. Daytime temperatures are generally pleasant, around 15/16 ° C. Westerly winds predominate, bringing fairly frequent, sometimes abundant, rains and wind. There are also periods of good weather, since the Azores high can move over Portugal even in winter. Very cold days are rare: there can sometimes be days with minimums around 2/3 ° C and maximums around 8/10 ° C, but the temperature never drops below zero: the record of cold is 0 ° C. Snow is a very rare occurrence: someone still remembers the snow of 1954, or the more recent (and less intense) of 2006.
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Spring, from March to May, is mild, with some periods of bad weather becoming rare from the second half of April, and good weather becoming more and more frequent.
Summer, from June to mid-September, is hot and sunny. Sometimes there can still be spring weather, a bit cool, especially in June. The average temperature reaches a maximum of 23.5 ° C in August, so that it is not too high, and besides the breeze blows from the ocean, tempering the heat. The clarity of the air makes it clear that we are not on the shores of the Mediterranean, where the summer tends to be more sultry. Generally, temperatures are pleasant, highs do not reach 30 ° C, and lows drop slightly below 20 ° C, although there can be very hot periods, usually of short duration, due to the weather conditions. African air masses: in these cases, the temperature can reach 36/38 ° C, and sometimes even 40 ° C. The heat record (for the period 1971/2000) is 41.5 ° C.
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Autumn, from mid-September to November, is initially warm and sunny, but then gradually becomes milder, as waves of bad weather become more frequent. November is a rainy month.
THE SUNSHINE
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The sunshine in Lisbon is very good in summer, when the weather is almost always good; it is also good in spring and early autumn, while at the end of autumn and winter there are cloudy periods, more or less long, alternating with sunny periods. Here are the average hours of sunshine per day.
WHEN TO GO?
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The best months to visit Lisbon are May, June and September, being generally mild or pleasantly warm, and sunny. Also in July and August the temperature is generally acceptable, but there is a higher risk of very hot days.
