Weather in Madeira in March
Averages, what the month actually feels like, and what is on while you are here.
March averages
| Measurement | Funchal, south coast | Santana, north coast | Pico do ArieiroModel grid cell at 1,758 m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 19 °C | 16 °C | 8 °C |
| Average low | 14 °C | 11 °C | 2 °C |
| Daylight | 12.0 h | 12.0 h | 12.0 h |
| Sea temperature | 19 °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 March
Funchal averages 60 mm of rain in March, on 6 days 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 March feels like
March comes in unsettled and goes out as spring. Days lengthen quickly, the hillsides are as green as they get all year, and the light after rain is the best of the season.
What to pack
A shell jacket, layers you can shed by noon, and swimwear for the hotel pool rather than the sea.
What to do in March
Good walking weather with real daylight to use. The flower season is starting, whale and dolphin trips run most days, and the trails are busy without being crowded.
Worth knowing before you book
March is one of the wetter months on paper, and the rain tends to arrive as a few heavy days rather than steady drizzle. Cloud sits on the peaks more often than in summer.
Cruise ships in March
49 ship calls at Funchal in March, which is what fills the old town and the cable car on a weekday morning.
Busiest days: Tuesday, March 2, Tuesday, March 16, Wednesday, March 3
Quick answers
- How warm is Madeira in March?
- In Funchal an average March day reaches 19 °C and falls to 14 °C overnight. Pico do Arieiro averages 8 °C in the same month, so the mountains need their own layer.
- Does it rain in Madeira in March?
- Funchal records about 60 mm across March, on 6 days 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 March?
- The sea off Funchal averages 19 °C in March. Madeira has no shallow shelf to warm it, so the water stays close to that figure all month.
- How long are the days in March?
- About 12.0 hours between sunrise and sunset, which sets how much of a long levada walk you can fit in before dark.