Alicante weather - spring, summer, autumn and winter in Alicante, Costa Blanca

A year-round mild weather is one of the key elements to Alicante’s success as a tourist destination.

The city located on the Costa Blanca stretch of the Mediterranean Coast, in the Spanish community of Valencia enjoys warm temperatures across all four seasons, with very few days of extreme heath in the summer and virtually no temperatures before the freezing point in the winter.

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The city, protected from the continental masses of air by the Maigmo mountain range , has its own microclimate, characterised by temperatures slightly higher than on in other places along the coast. The annual average temperature of 19 °C and 2800 hours of sun per year make Alicante a preferred location not only for holiday, but also a as a favourite winter retreat for many northern Europeans.

See below the general description of Alicante weather in different seasons of the year.

Alicante – spring in Costa Blanca
Although the mean daily temperatures for Alicante in March round 14°C, on sunny days (and those are predominant in this part of the Spanish coast at this time of the year), during the day the temperature can easily increase to 20 degrees.

Although for most of the spring the sea temperature in Alicante is still fairly low, from an average of 14°C in March to 19°C in May, basking in the sun by the coast is perfectly possible on most Spring days. Mornings and evenings can be still quite chilly.

Expect approximately 4 rainy days in Alicante in April and May.

The number of average daily sunshine hours increases rapidly from around 8 in April, to 10 in May.

Alicante weather detailed information. 

Alicante summer weather
As summer settles in, the days become even longer and warmer. Daytime temperatures vary between 25 and 30°C, only occasionally becoming uncomfortably high. The refreshing breeze form the Mediterranean helps to attenuate the discomfort of the (rare) heath waves.

 August is the hottest month in Alicante and throughout the whole summer nights are usually very pleasant too, with temperatures of around 20°C.

Alicante gets very dry, even arid, in the summer, with an average of 1 rainy day per month in July and August.

The sea temperature peaks 26°C in August and remains above 20°C until November.

Autumn holiday in Alicante – watch out for rain
The transition between the summer and the autumn in Alicante is almost seamless. For most of September, the weather in Costa Blanca remains summery. The arrival of autumn is most visible in the shortening of the days and the increase chance of precipitation.

The daytime temperatures exceed the mark of 20°C  (and by a large margin) in both Septemebr and October.

Although the mild temperatures registered in Alicante in early autumn invite to an off-season holiday, sudden and abundant rainfall may spoil your stay in Alicante.

During this time of the year Costa Blanca experiences a phenomenon known as the Cold Drop. It occurs when a pocket of cold air gets cut off from the polar jet streams and starts free floating in the warm areas of southern Europe, causing sudden changes in the atmospheric pressure and the subsequent weather instability. The Cold Drop often results heavy rainfall episodes and storms which may even lead to flooding.

The Cold Drop is typical to September and October, which are the wettest months in Alicante, however, may be also felt in the spring.

Alicante made the headlines in March 2017, when the heavy downpour in just 24 hours transformed the city’s streets into rivers. The worse flood experienced in Valencia in the last 20 years caused a substantial damage to the city’s infrastructure as well as to agriculture in the region.

Alicante winter - warm, but not always
The lowest temperature ever in Alicante, -1.6°C, was registered in the early 70s and never repeated itself since then. In fact, in the last four decades it rarely ever approached the mark of 0°C and snow has not been seen in Alicante since 1926.

It is wrong, however, to expect spring-like conditions in Alicante at all times during the winter. Although the average temperature in the coldest month, January, rounds 12°C, Costa Blanca can surprise with fairly chilly days and temperatures dropping to around 6°C. The ‘cold patches’ usually do not last longer than 2 or 3 days and are intertwined with periods of sunny skies and daytime temperatures of 16-18°C.

The days are the shortest and the grimmest in December, with only about 6 hours of sunshine.

Read also: What to see in Alicante - major tourist attractions of Costa Blanca's capital.