In May 2026
Precipitation was above the climatological normal throughout the Region, with Santana standing out
The Regional Directorate of Statistics of Madeira (DREM) publishes today a summary of the main meteorological data for the month of May 2026, simultaneously updating the respective Dashboard. This information¹ is provided by the Delegation of the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere I.P. (IPMA I.P.) in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM).
Air temperature
In May, the highest mean air temperature was recorded at the Funchal Observatory station (19.2 °C), whilst the lowest occurred at the Pico do Areeiro (CFM) station, with 9.5 °C.
Compared with the climatological normal² for the month of May, the stations with a sufficient data series for this analysis generally recorded values close to the reference values. The Chão do Areeiro station stood out, with a mean temperature of 10.2 °C, approximately 1.0 °C above its respective climatological normal.
With regard to extreme air temperatures, the absolute maximum temperature was recorded at the Pico Alto station (28.1 °C, on the 25th) and the absolute minimum temperature at the Pico do Areeiro (CFM) station, with −0.4 °C on the 7th and 10th.
Precipitation
In May, the highest total precipitation value was recorded at the Santana meteorological station, with 212.2 mm. In contrast, the lowest monthly value occurred at the Selvagem Grande station, with 0.1 mm.
Compared with the climatological normal² for the month of May, precipitation recorded values above the reference values at all stations with available data. The largest positive deviation occurred in Santana, where precipitation exceeded the climatological normal by 152.3 mm.
With regard to the number of days with precipitation, the Santana station stood out with 16 days with precipitation equal to or greater than 0.1 mm. For precipitation equal to or greater than 1.0 mm, the highest values were observed at the Chão do Areeiro station, with 12 days.
As regards the number of days with precipitation equal to or greater than 10.0 mm, the maximum value was 4 days, recorded at the Santa Catarina/Aeroporto, Chão do Areeiro, and Pico do Areeiro stations. For the 20.0 mm threshold, the Chão do Areeiro station stood out, with 3 days. For the 30.0 mm threshold, the highest values were recorded at the Porto Santo/Aeroporto, Chão do Areeiro, Santana, and Pico do Areeiro stations, on 2 days.
Relative humidity
In May, the monthly mean values of relative air humidity ranged between 67% at the Pico do Areeiro and Quinta Grande stations and 94% at the Santo da Serra station. The daily minimum value of relative air humidity was recorded at the Pico do Areeiro station, with 2% on the 29th, whilst the maximum value (100%) was reached at 12 stations on different days of the month.
Wind
In May, amongst the meteorological stations equipped with an anemometer, the highest mean wind speed was recorded at the Selvagem Grande station, with 21.4 km/h, whilst the lowest occurred at the Monte station, with 4.3 km/h. The maximum wind gust was recorded at the São Jorge station, reaching 117 km/h on the 8th.
Sunshine
In May, 255.7 hours of bright sunshine were recorded at the Porto Santo/Aeroporto station, 223.7 hours at the Santa Catarina/Aeroporto station, and 220.8 hours at the Funchal/ Observatory station.
Sea water
In May, the mean sea water temperature, measured at the Molhe da Pontinha (Funchal), was 18.6 °C. The highest daily mean temperature was recorded on the 26th, with 20.3 °C, whilst the lowest (17.7 °C) occurred on the 9th, 10th, and 11th of May.
Notes:
¹ — Daily data and monthly accumulated values refer to observations from 09:00 to 09:00.
² — The 1991–2020 climatological normal is used.
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