Weather in Madeira in November
Averages, what the month actually feels like, and what is on while you are here.
November averages
| Measurement | Funchal, south coast | Santana, north coast | Pico do ArieiroModel grid cell at 1,758 m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 21 °C | 18 °C | 10 °C |
| Average low | 16 °C | 13 °C | 4 °C |
| Daylight | 10.5 h | 10.5 h | 10.5 h |
| Sea temperature | 23 °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 November
Funchal averages 89 mm of rain in November, on 8 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 November feels like
November opens the wet season on paper, but it stays mild and there are long clear spells between the fronts. Funchal is still warm enough for an outdoor dinner on the good days.
What to pack
A proper waterproof, layers, and shoes that handle mud. Something warm for the mountains, which are cold and often inside cloud.
What to do in November
Quiet trails, lower prices, and the Christmas lights going up at the end of the month. Whale watching and the market carry on regardless of the sky.
Worth knowing before you book
This is the wettest stretch of the year on the north coast and storms close levadas most seasons. Airport wind is at its most disruptive from now until February.
Cruise ships in November
54 ship calls at Funchal in November, which is what fills the old town and the cable car on a weekday morning.
Busiest days: Wednesday, November 25, Wednesday, November 11, Tuesday, November 3
Quick answers
- How warm is Madeira in November?
- In Funchal an average November day reaches 21 °C and falls to 16 °C overnight. Pico do Arieiro averages 10 °C in the same month, so the mountains need their own layer.
- Does it rain in Madeira in November?
- Funchal records about 89 mm across November, on 8 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 November?
- The sea off Funchal averages 23 °C in November. Madeira has no shallow shelf to warm it, so the water stays close to that figure all month.
- How long are the days in November?
- About 10.5 hours between sunrise and sunset, which sets how much of a long levada walk you can fit in before dark.