 ‘Grazalema has the highest rainfall records in Spain’, this is a phrase that is commonly found on the internet, but without further explanation could be very off putting to the holiday maker! Mountains will always alter their local climate where-ever they are in the world, and this is no exception. Note that only a few hours drive away at the eastern end of Andalucia is Europe’s only desert!
The most green and humid areas of the Spanish Peninsular are the northern coastal zones which face the Atlantic ocean, through the Pyrenees mountain chain to the Catalan coast of the Mediterranean. These areas have rainy weather with a precipitation average of over 800 mm per annum and yet statistically the village of Grazalema, Andalusia, is isolated as the point where it rains the most, some years in the past recording it to receive around 2000mm.
In winter is it often grey and drizzling for weeks on end?
No, there may be grey and drizzle for a few days but even then the light levels are usually good and there are often breaks where it is pleasant to go out.
So does it rain a little every day to achieve this title?
The rain in the Sierra of Grazalema falls in the autumn, winter and spring and even then only sporadically, this is followed by a long hot / dry summer and, ironically, often suffers from drought!
What makes Grazalema the wettest place in Spain?
The Sierra de Grazalema has a special microclimate. We are in a place whose topography dictates it to be the rainiest site in Spain because it is the first high area which the humid sea winds hit after coming off the Atlantic. Winds driven across these lowlands warm up and then rise abruptly on meeting the mountain range, causing a cooling effect and cloud formation with precipitation. The natural inclines then guide water to flow rapidly into streams, rivers and arroyos (seasonally flowing streams that are dry during summer). Lower down this water is being reserved in man-made reservoirs to prevent its instant loss from the area.
How can the wettest place in the whole of Spain suffer a drought!
The bulk of the mountain zone is calcareous and with limestone being porous the rainfall percolates through it – quickly draining surface water away into underground channels, caves, rivers and caverns.
The weather pattern commonly goes from clear skies or partly cloudy to a shower/deluge followed by clear skies again within a day or so, then the sun shines warmly and quickly dries out the ground.
This area of south west Spain already holds an unusual collection of plants and trees due to its proximity (and prehistoric land connection) with North Africa plus its escape from the ice age which covered most of Europe. A great diversity of flora has continued to flourish in this specialist Mediterranean microclimate which can otherwise prove to be desiccating.
The village of Grazalema is a cluster of houses tucked into a valley high up in the mountains. It receives the lion’s share of rainfall due to its altitude, topography and orientation, other villages of these sierras receive much less.
Grazalema village statistics:
Municipal area: 121 Km2.
Latitude: 36° 46' N Longitude: 5° 25' O
Average height above sea level: 812 metres
Population approx: 2.200
Average rainfall per annum: between 1000mmm and 2000mm with occasional records up to 2,200mm
Possible weather pattern over the year:
January to beginning of May: Often clear skies, cold night temperatures, occasionally cloudy with showers or heavy rains.
May and June: The day and night temperatures are rising, the skies clear and the chance of light showers lessens.
July and August: Hot and dry with a heat haze. (Barbeques and fires are prohibited due to fire risk)
September: can be dry and hot, though night temperatures decrease.
Or have ‘Gotas Frias’ which translate as ‘cold drops’, these are brief heavy rainstorms that can cause flash flooding as the ground is so baked.
October, November, and December: the temperatures day and night are dropping with the chances of cloud build up and rain increasing.
A cold night in winter may drop to minus 5degrees celsius with the other extreme of the hottest day in summer reaching 45 degrees celsius.
Any recommendations for the traveller?
In general….
If you are visiting from mid September to mid May then have layers of clothing to help with the temperature changes, bring both suncream and light waterproofs! (If you are walking above 1000metres in the mountains, a wind across exposed peaks can be extremely chilling)
If you are visiting from mid May to mid September then wear light clothing to cover your skin and a good suncream, a hat that allows air through and carry drinking water.
Here are some average statistics per month with data collated between the years 1961 to 1990:
Average Rainfall in the Grazalema area per month from 1961 to 1990
January 110 – 230mm
February 110 – 230mm
March 110 – 230mm
April 110 – 230mm
May 50 – 110mm
June 20 – 50mm
July 0 – 5mm
August 0 – 5mm
September 20 – 50mm
October 50 – 110mm
November 110 – 230mm
December over 230mm
Average Temperatures in the Grazalema area per month from 1961 to 1990
January 2 degrees c
February 2 degrees c
March 5 degrees c
April 11 degrees c
May 14 degrees c
June 14 degrees c
July 20 degrees c
August 23 degrees c
September 20 degrees c
October 14 degrees c
November 11 degrees c
December 5 degrees c
This information is on the Junta de Andalucia website.
There is an up to date weekly forecast for the Sierra de Grazalema on our homepage.
This set of four images are from April 2008. We recorded 456mm of rain during this one month in the garden, note that in the province of Almeria in eastern Andalusia there average yearly record can be as low as 300mm.
Top left should be a vegetable garden and not a rice paddy!
Top right, this is an 'arroyo' which is dry for most of the year.
Bottom left, boulders roll in the river with the force of water.
Bottom right, water logging occurs due to the deluge but will soon drain away.
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