Articles by J JThe Mediterranean climate obviously takes its name from and is greatly effected by the closeness of that blue sea of the same name.
The key points to the Mediterranean climate are the dry, hot, summers, mild winters with variable rainfall and sunshine for something like in excess of 300 days and a lack of frost.
No wonder so many people from colder northern climes come here to live.
Not just the European snow birds but there are plenty of those even from across the Atlantic.
In this part of Spain you have many outstanding locations for living and sailing.
Marbella, Puerto Banus,Benalmadena,Cabopino and Sotogrande to name just a few.
The short spring and long autumn seasons tend to merge gently together forming one with no real winter season.
The Mediterranean climate is also known as a ‘winter rainfall’ climate and other areas around the world with a similar sunshine and rainfall pattern are also said to have a Mediterranean climate.
These can be found in the central and southern coast of California which has an amazingly similar topography, the south-western cape of South Africa, central Chile and south-western Australia.
All areas which are defined as having a Mediterranean climate lie between 30-45 degrees latitude irrespective as to whether they are to the north or south of the equator
Rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain but in Andalucia there is usually very little rain between June and September but a reasonable amount of rain between October to March.
The prevailing Westerly wind comes from the Atlantic Ocean and therefore western Andalucia is naturally wetter than the eastern part.
The area to the west of Ronda, is known as the Sierra de Grazalema and this is the wettest area of Spain with just under 90 inches of rain per year.
Tarifa, (where we get the word Tarrif from) lies at Andalucia’s southernmost point where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean is a very windy spot indeed and is a haven for windsurfers here you can see the fantastic emerging city of Tangier rising on the distant sky line. Tarifa dates back to Roman times and beyond.
The mountain ranges are much cooler than the plains and have a higher rainfall with some snow in winter. The Sierra Nevada Mountains, rising above 3000 metres, are covered in snow for much of the year.
There is a very considerable difference in the climate between the inland and coastal parts of Andalucia.
Near the sea temperatures are more temperate in winter and cooler than inland during the summer months. During the months from November to February Inland areas have cooler temperatures often falling many degrees below freezing but then there also very high temperatures during the summer months