Weather and Climate on La Palma

Weather report - Aeropuerto Santa Cruz de La La Palma

Travel – Info on Weather and Climate on La Palma

On the island of La Palma, there is a moderate climate as with anywhere else during the Canary Islands calendar year. The sun certainly shines here more strongly through its closeness to the equator, but it does not become too hot in the summer due to the trade winds.

The climate is mild and relatively balanced with many hours of sunshine through the whole year according to the weather reports on sun and rain. Trade winds and the Gulf Stream ensure a comfortable cooling in the summer and in the winter for warm temperatures: with annual few variations, the temperature reaches between 20-22°C in February and 26-28°C in August. La Palma of the Canary Islands offers all year the suitable weather for swimming in the sun with temperatures in the Atlantic of 18°C in February and 23°C in August.

Trade Wind Clouds guarantee Rich Water Resources

La Palma, also called “isla verde” of the Canary Islands flowers and blooms all year long. The abundant vegetation is marked by the north-east trade winds, which form clouds at the northern- and eastern side of La Palma and, when crossing the island, remain floating over the mountains, in order to let off rain there. Thus, the mountain ridge passing through La Palma from the North to the South, has the effect of a watershed, so that hardly any rain is let off in the West. Nevertheless, this side, too, is supplied from the mountains and the higher, dense forestes with sufficient water that flows through Barrancos and water tunnels down into the valleys of La Palma.

Climate Chart of La Palma

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Hours of sunshine per day	6	7	8	8	9	10	11	10	9	7	6	6
Temp. day	21	22	23	23	24	25	27	28	27	26	25	23
Temp. night	16	16	16	17	18	19	21	22	21	20	19	17
Temp. water	19	18	18	19	19	20	21	22	23	23	22	21
Rainy days	6	4	3	4	2	1	1	1	2	4	5	7

Weather-Phenomenon Calima

A further weather phenomenon, which seldomly passes by above La Palma and the Canary Islands is the Calima or Levante. This hot, dry desert wind, sweeping from the Sahara above the islands according to the weather reports, carries the finest yellowish, reddish Sahara dust. During Calima, there are temperatures of around 40°C. Then, because of the cooling effect of the sea, the higher regions are considerably hotter than the regions close to the sea. At night, temperatures hardly cool hardly down then on La Palma, and clear sight is limited throught the fine dust in the sun. Calima occurs 1-2 times per year and has a duration of 2-4 days, or maybe also 5 days as in the summer of 2004. This year – 2007, it showed up on La Palma for two days with strong down winds at the end of July. Foto: wikipedia

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