Today's weather for Gibraltar, United Kingdom22nd Nov 2009 08:50

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Weather Overview for Gibraltar

Located at the bottom tip of southern Spain, with Tangiers just a short boat ride away and Malaga in close proximity by a two hour drive along the Andalucian coastline; Gibraltar enjoys continual sunshine influenced by the cool breezes of North Africa.

The climate throughout the region of Gibraltar is naturally Mediterranean consisiting of pleasant winters and warm dried out summers. The months of May throughout until September can get very hot and humid. There is no rainy season, but most rain falls in the winter months when the average temperature is at a balmy 15°C. January is typically the coldest month, however climates throughout the day still range between a very warm 16ºC to 18ºC so it is quite possible to top up a golden tan. In the summer months however the average temperature will rise to a searing around 30°C.

Gibraltar has an average of 300 days sunshine a year making this location the sunniest and driest destination in the whole of the UK.

It is not at all unusual for residents of Gibraltar to take pleasure in up to 90 continuous days without a drop of rain, while the sun shines down for approximately eleven hours daily. Throughout summer average lows will not drop below13ºC, however most days will reach up to 30ºC.

Gibraltar is a region that features vast seasonal extremes where weather is ruled by the Levanter; the warm breeze loaded with moisture that hits the eastern face of the Rock, compresses in the sky beyond it and causes a cold diminish to suspend over the city and bay. During this period the climate is humid. The average minimum and maximum temperatures in the summer are 13°C to 30°C correspondingly.

In summer, the essentially dry season, the wind from the East or Levanter, brings warm and humid surroundings and can produce a fairly unrelenting “Rock Top” cloud that suspends over the city area. Sea fog is not unusual on these occasions. Summer brings an average of eleven hours of sunshine per day whereas the summer drought frequently lasts 90 uninterrupted days.

The average temperature in August is 24.5°C. On average only 30 percent of days are classified as “wet”, although precipitation amounts can be variable in the extreme. Gibraltar and the immediate Strait area benefit from a distinctive position lying at the western entrance to the Alboran Basin which is protected by the Atlas mountain range to the south, and Sierra Nevada to the north.

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