| While the famous Mediterranean
climate exerts its influence over much of the peninsula, the
landmass of Spain and Portugal gives it a continental climate,
i.e., extremes of temperature, hot summers and cold winters,
with short spring and autumn. Western Andalusia and the Algarve
are warmed by the Gulf Stream, and in summer south winds from
the Sahara can be suffocating. Portugal's west coast and Galicia,
though also bathed by the Gulf Stream, face the Atlantic and
can be cold and rainy. The Cantabrian regions of Spain (Asturias,
Cantabria and the Basque Country) have a temperate climate
with a great deal of rainfall. The Levante (Castellon, Valencia
and Alicante) often suffers from tremendous rainstorms, usually
in autumn, which can cause a great deal of material damage.
In the Pyrenees, too, flash floods can be a hazard. The peninsula
as a whole, though, is extremely dry, especially in those
long, hot summers which are its main attraction for many tourists.
Elsewhere on the Net - Selected
Links
Instituto
de Meteorologia, Portugal
The Portuguese Met. Office. An awkward, old-fashioned site,
in spite of its sexy homepage, and only in Portuguese.
Instituto
Nacional de Meteorología, Spain
The Spanish Met. Office's site is less awkward and old-fashioned
than its Portuguese equivalent, but also lacks an English-language
version. If you click the map at the bottom right, you are
taken to the forecasts section, which offers quite detailed
predictions, but only in Spanish.
Lisbon
Weather Forecast
A ten-day forecast from Intellicast.
Malaga
Weather Forecast
A five-day forecast from the CNN.
Portugal
Weather Conditions
Current weather conditions in Portugal according to the U.S.
National Weather Service. The locations you can choose from
all seem to be airports.
Spain
Weather Conditions
Current weather conditions almost anywhere in Spain corresponding
to an airport, however small, from the U.S. National Weather
Service.
Sunsafe
From the UK Department of Health, serious advice, entertainingly
presented.
Weather
Channel
Ten-day forecasts for practically anywhere.
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