A mega-useful article for anyone planning a trip to the Canary Islands. Discover about the weather in the Canary Islands month by month, when the tourist season is, what nuances and peculiarities exist, and there are plenty. There will be a lot of important information that will answer all your questions and even help you choose the resort for your dream vacation.

Climate and Weather in the Canary Islands: General Information

Let me briefly tell you about the general information about the climate in the Canaries. It will help you form a correct picture of the archipelago and what awaits you on your vacation.

  • The Canary Islands are the southernmost region of Europe and are part of Spain. More details about this are in the article: where are the Canaries on the world map. There you will also find a map.
  • Also, the Canaries are located 100km from Africa, from Morocco. But more importantly, the islands are located 100 km from the Sahara Desert, and I think no one needs to imagine it. About the influence of the Sahara on the climate of the Canary Islands, I will tell you more in the article later. For now, it’s just a fact.

Interesting to know:

The Canary Islands have a second unofficial name: the “Islands of Eternal Spring” – and this is absolutely true. Here, winters are warm, and summers are moderately hot. If you don’t mind a few hot weeks a year, then the average annual air temperature here is 20-25 degrees Celsius. Which is very comfortable for a vacation.
  • An important feature is that the climate of the Canaries is quite dry. There is no high humidity here, and there is little rainfall throughout the year. This is precisely the influence of African winds that bring dry air masses from the Sahara.
weather canaries
Cloudiness in the Canaries is quite common, but it rarely leads to rain. Many clouds form over the Atlantic in general. This photo was taken in December on the island of Fuerteventura, the clouds seem rainy at first glance, but it rains normally here about 10 times a year, if not less. The island itself more resembles Mars or a desert.
  • The Canary Islands are washed by the Canary Current. This is a major current in the Atlantic Ocean, its main feature is that it flows from north to south and is a cold current. This means that the water in the Canaries is cold all year round, even though the air temperature rarely drops below 19 degrees Celsius, even in February.

When is the season, or when is the best time to go to the Canary Islands?

This is the most common question from tourists that I hear.

When is the season in the Canary Islands for vacation?

All year round. Tourists vacation here all 12 months of the year. And you can sunbathe even in February. And November-December is generally considered the velvet season.
monthly weather in the canary islands
Mogan Beach on the south of Gran Canaria Island in February. Look at how many people are on the beach. Yes, the water is cold, about +20. But the weather in the Canaries is suitable for sunbathing all year round.

But there are a few BUTs that you need to know, especially about vacationing in the Canaries in winter, from December to March. This concerns the choice of a resort for vacation, as not everywhere the weather in the Canary Islands is like in the photo above.

  • In winter, predominantly north winds blow. They bring a lot of clouds.
  • All the islands of the archipelago are volcanic with mountain peaks in the center, which trap clouds. All about volcanoes and mountains in the Canary Islands.
  • As a result, there is much more sun and sunny days on the south of all islands than on the north. If you are specifically interested in sunbathing and beach vacation, then it is better to choose southern resorts on any island.
vacation season canarias
Two very illustrative photos, I took them on the island of La Palma. Across the center of the island runs a mountain ridge about 1600 meters high. On the northeast, on one side of these mountains, it is often cloudy because all the clouds are trapped by this ridge. And on the southwest, on the other side, there are more sunny days. In the upper photo, you can see the ridge itself. And in the lower one, clouds pass through the ridge, at the same time, on the north of the island, there is heavy cloudiness, and there is no sun at all. And almost on any island of the Canaries, in the north, often the sky is completely cloudy, and 15 km to the south, the sky is absolutely clear, as all the clouds are trapped by the mountains.

There is a large article on the topic at the link: where is the best place to vacation in the Canaries. There you will find all the necessary information with a list of the sunniest resorts on each island.

Air and water temperature, rainfall and humidity in the Canaries by month

I hope you already understand what the weather is like in the Canaries throughout the year: warm and dry. Below are several tables with air temperature, precipitation by month. This will be more visual and understandable. See what awaits you during your vacation and what are the average annual fluctuations.

  • all data below will be for the southern resort of the island of Tenerife – Los Cristianos and Las Americas
temperature in the Canary Islands by month
Weather in the Canary Islands by month: average daily air temperature day and night
best time to go to the Canary Islands
Weather in the Canaries by month: water temperature in the ocean. It is almost never above 24 degrees, except in lava pools

This is a feature of vacationing in the Canaries, the water is quite invigorating all year round. All because of the cold Canary Current. On the other side of the Atlantic in these same latitudes are the Caribbean, so the water there is like warm milk, all because there is the warm Gulf Stream.

But at the same time, in bays, in the south or southwest of almost any island, where there is protection from the waves of the Atlantic and the wind, the water warms up well during the day. More about the ocean in the Canaries in the article at the link. There I will tell you where it is best to swim, what lava pools are, you will learn about whales in the Canaries.

holiday season in the Canary Islands
Weather in the Canary Islands by month: rainfall. The graph shows that September is the wettest month, with around 16 mm of precipitation. To give you a better understanding, for comparison, in Madrid, the driest month of the year sees about 13mm of rainfall.

Useful to know:

There’s no need to fear rain on the islands. Even in the wettest month of the year, it rains only a couple of times a month. There are no rainy seasons in the Canary Islands, and it doesn’t rain for weeks on end like in resorts in Southeast Asia.

Yes, there are days when it drizzles for 20-30 minutes. It’s hardly even considered rain. It doesn’t disrupt leisure activities.

Winds on the islands, calima – the sandstorm

Now, onto crucial and useful information that not everyone knows before traveling to the Canary Islands—let’s talk about the wind.

Winds on the islands are regular occurrences, strong and often warm, blowing from any direction throughout the year, but mostly from the north or east. It’s important to note that eastern winds blow from the east, from the direction of Africa.

Important to know:

There are several types of winds on the Canary Islands, each with its own local name. It’s not necessary to discuss each of them in detail because these winds don’t significantly affect your vacation. I’ll only talk about the most important one — the calima.
calima canarias
I took a photo at one of the stands on La Palma. Here, some types of winds and their names on the Canaries are indicated. The most important thing to note is the first row in the center—the calima (dust clouds and sandstorms from Africa).
  • The calima is dry air masses from Africa, originating from the Sahara Desert, which is 100km from the Canaries. The characteristic of this wind is that it carries sand from the desert.
sandstorm tenerife
This is what the calima looks like on satellite images. Tons of sand are carried from the Sahara to the Canary Islands.

Interesting to know:

Over millions of years, the calima has transported hundreds of thousands of tons of sand from the Sahara to the Canary Islands. And today, there are small “deserts” with this sand in several places on the Canaries. Among the largest are the Maspalomas dunes on Gran Canaria and the Corralejo National Park on Fuerteventura. In the articles provided, you can see descriptions and photos of these deserts on these islands and see how much sand the wind has brought from the desert across the ocean.

Here are a few important facts about calima for tourists that you should know:

  • The climate on the Canary Islands directly depends on the calima wind.
  • Calima can occur at any time of the year; there’s no specific seasonality.
  • 5-6 times a year, the calima is very strong and carries a lot of dust and sand. People with respiratory problems, such as asthma, find it particularly difficult. If this applies to you, consider preparing and bringing along a first aid kit with necessary medications.
  • Calima usually lasts a couple of days, but sometimes even a whole week.
  • It occurs more frequently in summer, but again, there’s no specific season. It can happen in winter too.

he forecast and strength of calima are reported daily on TV and radio in each weather forecast. You can also check the Windy website. You should see the “Dust mass” map; if it doesn’t open, select the appropriate map from the list on the right side of the screen. It’s a very good resource.

So that you understand what calima looks like and why it’s dangerous for asthmatics, take a look at the two photos below that I took near my home with a week’s difference on the main beach in Las Palmas on Gran Canaria.

dust sand wind canary
I took the photos from approximately the same location on Las Canteras Beach on Gran Canaria. The top photo shows sand in the air—this is the calima. Such wind occurs 5-7 times a year, usually less intense. I took the bottom photo a week later. Sometimes calima lasts only 1 day, sometimes a week.
  • Calima isn’t the only danger on the islands. There are also scorpions, a few snakes, and street thieves. You can read about all of this in the article: Dangers on the Canaries for tourists and how to stay safe.

Travel Tips

I hope you no longer have any questions about the weather in the Canary Islands, but here are some general tips that have been discussed in this article:

  • You can confidently visit here any month of the year. Even in February, you’ll get a great tan.
  • The weather in the Canary Islands is comfortable for leisure all year round. Remember, the sunniest resorts are usually located on the southern side of the islands.
  • There’s very little rain in the Canary Islands; the climate is quite dry.
  • The ocean water is cold year-round.
  • Calima can occur in any month of the year. There’s no advance forecast. Meteorological centers can predict “calima” a maximum of 2-3 days beforehand.

In conclusion: when is the best time to visit the Canary Islands? In my personal opinion, any month of the year except for summer. During the summer, there are too many tourists, parking issues, overcrowded beaches, and expensive accommodations. Personally, I would choose November or April-May; it’s already summer, but there aren’t as many vacationers yet. The Canary Islands rightly earned the nickname “Islands of Eternal Spring.” Apart from the Calima wind, the weather in the Canary Islands is very comfortable for leisure and living throughout the year.

Useful links to help you plan your dream trip to Canary Islands:

  • Car Rental: LocalRent or DiscoverCars – the most popular car rental platforms.

  • Accommodation:
    • Trip.com – the largest accommodation booking platform.

    • or TripAdvisor – to compare prices among other platforms and choose the best one.

  • Budget-friendly vacation packages to Spain and Canary Islands: CheapOair.

  • Tours and activities: GetYourGuide or Viator – hundreds of offers, whales and dolphins, entrance tickets with discounts.

  • eSIM and internet: Airalo.

  • Flights: WayAway compares prices among dozens of companies.

  • Travel Insurance: EKTA.