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There are a number of official figures in Spain of around
47ºC: Écija, also known as the "sartén or frying pan of
Andalucia" located in the province of Seville, with 47ºC in 1959
and again 1967, and Seville itself in 1946, also with
47ºC, Badajoz with 47ºC in August of 1964 and Cordoba with
46.6ºC in July 1995.
The highest absolute temperature appears to be Murcia more
recently with 47.8°C in July 1976, though weather people
suspect temperatures of 50ºC have been reached at
various points in the Guadalquivir basin.
Many books including the Spanish version of the Guiness
Book of Records give the absolute record in Spain as the
51ºC recorded in Seville on 30th July 1876. This, however,
is not accepted by experts as it was made using suspect
equipment. Doubts also hang over the 48.8ºC recorded in
Cazalla (Seville) on 30th August 1926.
By year-round average the warmest capitals are Almería
with 18.5ºC, Huelva with 18.3ºC and Cadiz with 18.2ºC.
Probably the consistently hottest areas in Spain are the Vegas
Bajas del Guadiana (Badajoz) and the Guadalquivir Valley
(provincies of Seville and Cordoba).
In the Canaries, average annual temperatures are around
21ºC along the coast and low altitudes while at the
Observatory of Izaña (Tenerife) at 2,367 metres above sea
level, the average
yearly temperature drops to 9.7ºC, lower than the coolest
capitals of the Peninsula. Temperature records, while not
as high as the Peninsula are around 44ºC.
The opposite end of the scale is more complex as altitude,
something not lacking in Europe's second highest country,
plays such an important role in bringing down the
temperature. Forget the clichés of sunny Spain. If you
sleep out in Central Spain in January you will probably
die.
Both Castillas have over thirty records showing temperatures below -20. The official record of the lowest temperature
in Spain is at Estangento in Lerida with -32ºC in 1956,
though once again experts suspect that some of the peaks
in the Aragonese Pyrenees have fallen to -40ºC.
Perhaps the coldest land in Spain is the relatively low
region located between Zaragoza, Teruel and Guadalajara. Here, at the
Calamocha and Molina de Aragón weather stations, records
of -28ºC to -30ºC have been recorded. The coldest regional
capitals in Spain are in Castilla y León (Burgos with a yearly average
of 9.9ºC, Avila with 10.4ºC and Soria 10.5ºC.)
Figures are taken from "Climas y tiempos de España" by
Javier Martín and Jorge Olcina, 2001 and the Instituto
Nacional de Meteorologia at http://www.inm.es |
