A social media post questioned whether rain in August in Madeira was rare, following a forecast of showers. To answer this, DIÁRIO consulted records from the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA).
The data indicates that August is indeed a month with little precipitation. However, the occurrence of rain does not constitute an anomaly. Between August 1st and 23rd, most meteorological stations recorded some rainfall, with the exception of Funchal/Observatório. Values such as 0.7 mm in Porto Santo/Aeroporto or 23.2 mm in Santana were compared to the climatological norm (1991-2020), revealing that, in general, accumulated amounts were below the usual for the month.
An analysis of 20 IPMA stations in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (18 on Madeira Island, one on Porto Santo, and one on Selvagem Grande) reinforces this conclusion. As of August 24th, only Funchal/Observatório had no precipitation record. At 13 stations, days classified as rainy had already been counted, with Santana standing out, having registered precipitation on 17 days.
