Beach Weather In Alicante
Know The Best Time To Travel

The weather in Alicante, like the rest of the towns on the Costa Blanca coastline, is very warm to hot during the long, dry summer months. Aicante is located in an area that receives low rainfall. Approxmately 350 millimetres (mm) occurs throughout the year.

If you want to avoid the possibility of being caught in flash floods in Alicante, then should plan to arrive before mid September and after October.

Thunderstorm activity becomes more frequent and severe during late September and throughout October before decreasing both in intensity and number in November, December and January. The torrential rain during these thunderstorms is responsible for most of the flooding in Alicante.

The weather conditions become quite cool and windy at times during the winter. There will be times in the winter when the arrival of a cold front drives maximum daytime temperatures below 14°C, but within a day or two, the maximum temperatures will rise again to about 18-20°C. You'll find that many elderly people consider the winter Alicante weather conditions to be very comfortable since this is the time of year when less people visit Alicante. There is some rainy weather in the winter, but in most years, you'll unlikely to be inconvenienced by floods or cold weather that requires you to stay indoors to keep warm. Alicante is subject to large fluctuations in temperature and so you need to bring some warm clothing with you. Don't be fooled into believing it can't get cold in Alicante during the winter time.

December

You can expect that the beginning of winter to bring with it clear cool sunny days with light winds. However, colder air masses (cold fronts) moving in from the north west break up the nice weather for a couple of days.

You can be sure that these cold fronts will produce cloudy conditions with strong north westerly winds and light rain. Since the mountains to the north of Alicante block all but the strongest cold fronts from arriving, you can expect that the December rainfall totals will only be about 25mm.

The average overnight temperature in Alicante is around 7°C before rising to a daytime maximum of 18-20°C. Since December is only the start of winter, you should anticipate that the early part of December will be up 3-4°C warmer during both the day and night than the later part of December.

January

This is the coldest time of the year in Alicante. You will need bring some warm clothing with you for use at night. Some mornings can be foggy with a minimum overnight time temperature of about 6°C. Most of the thicker fog is located out to sea and if there's any fog in Alicante, it would have cleared by 10am. Just be aware that since Alicante has a major airport, some flights may have to be diverted to a different landing site if there's too much fog in the area on your arrival. Some mornings in Alicante will have frost.

Maximum daytime temperature (17-18°C) are cool, but if there's no wind, it will feel quite warm. Most of the days will be sunny with very little clouds. You might get the odd day when the daytime maximum surges up to 22°C, but when that occurs you know for sure that such warm temperatures in winter will be replaced by unusually cold temperatures. If you're planning to spend your whole day in the sun then you'll be wise to put on some sunscreen too avoid sunburn. Yes, you can get surnburnt in the winter in Alicante.

There will be the occasional dismal looking day associated with the passage of a cold front, but on the whole, you should get great weather.

February

February's weather in Alicante is almost the same as December. Please refer to the section I've about the weather in Alicante in December. Although, night time temperatures can get even lower than those in January and so you can expect large fluctuations in temperatures from night to night.

March is the transition season in Alicante. Some days will be clear, sunny and warm leading you to believe that the weather in Alicante for the duration of your stay will the same. Unfortunately not. The weather in Alicante during March is highly erratic. Temperatures can go as high as 24°C but by the next day, the daytime maximum has dropped back to unexceptable holiday temperature of only 18°C. There will be many false starts of warmer weather in March.

Typically the minimum overnight temperatures average around 8°C before rising to a maximum daytime temperature of 19-21°C.

April

April is a beautiful time of year to visit Alicante. Overnight temperatures are about 10°C before it rises to a comfortable 21-23°C. The days of winter have passed and you should see one or two days, particularly near the end of April having temperatures up to 27°C. The beach at this time of year is fantastic since the waves won't be rough like some of the days in winter. Sea breezes will begin to occur on the hottest days in the afternoon and this will lower afternoon temperatures a little. Rainfall will occur in the form of an afternoon shower since the warm surface heating will make the atmospheric conditions suitable for cloud formation.

May

During early May, light afternoon showers will occur every second day. These showers shouldn't dampen your holiday spirit since they produce rain that is generally of light to moderate intensity. However, by the end of May, this afternoon shower activity will become less as drier weather is experienced throughout the summer months.

Most of the days in May will be sunny, so you'll have ample time to go swimming or performing outdoor activities before any rain occurs. It may sound to you like it rains frequently in Alicante. This isn't true. You will notice how brown the grass is around Alicante and this will give you an indication of how frequent rain occurs.

Temperatures in Alicante during May range from 13°C in the early morning before reaching a maximum of 24-25°C. Although at least one day toward the end of May will reach 30°C.

Almost everyday in the summer will have sea breezes. These sea breezes not only lower that daytime temperatures but can also circulate air pollutants onto the coast of Alicante. Smog in summer can be quite bad during heat wave conditions. Generally the air pollution in Alicante is not severe, but may cause some minor respiratory distress if you have pre-existing respiratory illnesses. Heat waves commonly lead to a huge number of people being hospitalised as a result of dehydration and heat exhaustion. So drink plenty of water (not alcohol) when the weather is really hot and make sure you stay in the shade.

Stagnate air occurs during summer since a high pressure system commonly lies over southern France. The high pressure system pulls high altitude air pollutants to sea level. A majority of these air pollutants come from central Europe and a minor component from within industrial parts of Spain. When the winds are light over eastern Spain and the daytime temperatures are high, this allows air pollutants which commonly reside out to sea to move onshore with the sea breeze. The smog then moves back out to sea at night with the land breeze. This circulation of air pollutants occurs only when there's no rain and the winds are light.

However, as soon as there's an afternoon thunderstorm, most of this air pollution is washed to the surface and this mechanism helps to clean the atmosphere. Although thunderstorms do occur in June, July and August, they are not very common. Late July and early August is probably the worst time to visit Alicante since temperatures up to 40°C can occur.

June

The weather in Alicante in June is warm to very warm. Temperatures range from a very comfortable 17°C overnight before reaching 27°C by day on average. The early part of June is generally the only time you'll see some rain in Alicante.

The later part of June has hot, sunny weather with light winds and afternoon sea breezes. Wearing sun protection is a must or you'll pay the consequences. You should see some days with maximum temperatures reaching 32°C and it's on such days that the sea breeze will blow the strongest. If you plan to go swimming on really hot days, be prepared for larger waves in the afternoon, since the sea breeze will increase the wave height.

July

Both the minimum and maximum temperatures will have increased further in July. Average overnight temperatures will drop slowly before reaching a minimum of 20°C just before sunrise. Once the sun is up, the temperature rapidly increases to 30°C. Rainfall is almost non-existent during July and most days will be quite hot and sunny. There maybe some afternoon cloud cover associated with the arrival of the sea breeze but other than that, you will experience blue skies.

During very hot days, you may end up seeing some dust moving in from over the Mediterranean Sea. This dust cloud comes from the Sahara desert. Very rarely will you have to move indoors due to the presence of thick dust clouds. Normally, when you get up in the morning, you'll notice a layer of dust lying over everything. This dust means that the very hot weather has begun since air moving in from the south is always much hotter than air coming from any other direction.

August

August is normally the time when weather in Alicante is as its hottest. You can expect next to zero rainfall with hot winds tempered by a daily afternoon sea breeze. Overnight temperatures are close to 21°C and the maximum temperature will reach no less than 31°C. The early part of August is by far the hottest. Temperatures may increase to 40°C during a heat wave, which of course can make your holiday miserable. In fact, no matter where you go on mainland eastern Spain during a heat wave, you'll unlikely to escape from the heat unless you stay behind closed doors in front of air conditioning.

But luckily, heat wave weather in Alicante doesn't occur every year but once every five years. Beware of dust and bushfire smoke when heat waves occur.

September

During September, there's a quick transition to afternoon thunderstorm activity. This occurs mainly in the later half of September. These storms near the end of September produce heavy rain with lightning and occasionally hail with strong winds. Thunderstorms that occur in early September are less likely to produce heavy rain, but you will see lots of lightning.

Many days in September will start out sunny in the morning but by 1pm, the clouds will begin to cover the sky. If you want to go swimming, it's best to do so in the morning before the afternoon electrical activity.

Overnight temperatures in September will be about 18°C. Daytime maximum temperatures will reach 28-29°C. The frequent afternoon cloud cover will prevent the afternoon temperatures from rising too high. Although, you may get the odd day when the temperature reaches 35°C.

October

The weather in Alicante in October can be quite horrible at times since this month with the most rain out of any month of the year. If you're planning to visit Alicante in October, just be aware that very heavy rain may lead to flash flooding.

Probably the best time to visit Alicante in October would be near the end of the month. Although, there's no guarantee that you'll avoid the electrical storms.

The temperatures will vary from a minimum of 14°C at night before reaching a maximum of 24-26°C by day. There may be a lot of wind at times but this will occur during a thunderstorm.

However, you may feel that October should be avoided at all cost but you should realise that flooding in Alicante doesn't occur every year. The weather in Alicante in October may sound terrible but in reality, you will still get some fine sunny days with pleasant weather and so you'll be able to go to the beach up to about 1pm.

November

The temperatures during November will certainly feel cooler since the overnight temperatures go down to about 10°C before reaching a maximum daytime temperature of between 20-22°C. There will still be some rain about but it definitely shouldn't prevent you from having a great holiday in Alicante.

Certainly the earlier part of November is much better beach weather in Alicante since some days may reach 26°C. By the end of November, most of the temperatures during the day will hover around 19°C.

There should be hardly any sea breezes in the afternoon in November since the both the land and ocean temperature will be almost the same temperature at this time of the year. In order for a sea breeze to form, the land temperature needs to be higher than the ocean temperature.

During November, you may experience some unusual cold weather in Alicante, especially if a cold front does make its way across the mountains. In that case, the daytime maximum temperature may only reach 16°C. So you should plan to bring some warmer winter clothing with you to this sun, surf and sand destination in November just in case.

Please let me know if I helped you plan your trip better. I love to get feedback.

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