Weather in Madeira in August
Averages, what the month actually feels like, and what is on while you are here.
August averages
| Measurement | Funchal, south coast | Santana, north coast | Pico do ArieiroModel grid cell at 1,758 m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 28 °C | 23 °C | 17 °C |
| Average low | 21 °C | 17 °C | 9 °C |
| Daylight | 13.3 h | 13.3 h | 13.3 h |
| Sea temperature | 25 °C | – | – |
Temperature and daylight, averaged over the ten years from 2016 to 2025 and recomputed from the Open-Meteo archive rather than typed in by hand. The model works in cells roughly ten kilometres across, so each column describes an area rather than one thermometer. Checked against IPMA's Funchal normal, the temperatures land within about a degree and a half. Sea temperature averages the years 2022 to 2025. The marine record is shorter than the air record, so it rests on fewer years.
Rain in August
Funchal averages 2 mm of rain in August, on 1 day with a millimetre or more.
The north coast around Santana and the mountains above a thousand metres are wetter than the seafront in every month of the year, often several times over. IPMA publishes no station normal for Santana or Pico do Arieiro, so this page puts no millimetre figure on them rather than one it cannot check.
Rainfall: the IPMA climate normal for the Funchal observatory (station 522, 58 m), averaged over the 30 years from 1981 to 2010. The ten-year reanalysis behind the table above is not used for rain. Its grid cell is about ten kilometres across, so it averages the Funchal seafront with the slopes that climb steeply behind the city, where most of the island's summer rain falls. Measured against this normal it runs roughly ten times high in June, July and August.
What August feels like
August is the warmest month by day and by night, and the sea is at its warmest too. Coastal evenings stay balmy enough to eat outside without a layer.
What to pack
Summer clothes, swimwear, sun protection and something light for the evening. Nothing heavy unless the summits are planned.
What to do in August
The Assumption holiday on 15 August fills the north coast towns. Sea pools, boat trips and early-morning high routes are all in their element.
Worth knowing before you book
It is the busiest month for hotels, flights and hire cars, and the popular trails need an early start to be worth it. Heat and dry vegetation raise the wildfire risk, which occasionally closes paths at no notice.
Cruise ships in August
5 ship calls at Funchal in August, which is what fills the old town and the cable car on a weekday morning.
Busiest days: Wednesday, August 11, Tuesday, August 3
Quick answers
- How warm is Madeira in August?
- In Funchal an average August day reaches 28 °C and falls to 21 °C overnight. Pico do Arieiro averages 17 °C in the same month, so the mountains need their own layer.
- Does it rain in Madeira in August?
- Funchal records about 2 mm across August, on 1 day with a millimetre or more of rain. The north coast and the mountains take several times as much in the same weeks, which is why the two halves of the island can look like different holidays.
- Can you swim in the sea in August?
- The sea off Funchal averages 25 °C in August. Madeira has no shallow shelf to warm it, so the water stays close to that figure all month.
- How long are the days in August?
- About 13.3 hours between sunrise and sunset, which sets how much of a long levada walk you can fit in before dark.