| Weather |
| Principal Met Officer,
Meteorological Office, Gibraltar, BFPO 52 |
History |
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One of the earliest events to concentrate the
minds of Gibraltar's citizens on the weather occurred on 31 January 1776 when 50 lives
were lost in a great deluge of unrecorded intensity. During this terrific storm 33 inches
of rain (838 mm) are said to have fallen in 26 hours.
Regular observations of rainfall were started by the Royal Engineers in 1790 and have
continued with only minor interruptions until the present time, this provides the
Meteorological Office with one of the oldest and most complete data sets in the whole of
the Iberian Peninsula.
In the mid thirties the Royal Navy set up an observing station at Windmill Hill to serve
the need of the flying boats operating in the Bay of Gibraltar. In 1938 the Meteorological
Office took over the responsibility of all observing and forecast services including the
supply of weather information to the Combined HQ for the North Africa landings in 1942. At
the end of the war in Europe the forecast and observing services were combined in Nissen
Hut accommodation moving to the current location in the Air Traffic Control building in
May 1955.
At present, surface weather observations of temperature, wind, visibility, cloud,
sunshine, rainfall and atmospheric pressure are made hourly, and sounding of the upper
atmosphere, by radio-sonde balloons is carried out every 12 hours. The Meteorological
Office Gibraltar today enjoys high speed satellite data links with its HQ in Bracknell
providing services to Aviation, Shipping, Building, Business, Media and Leisure. |
| Statistics |
|
Statistical information can be obtained by
contacting The Gibraltar Meteorological Office, the following services are available:
Yearly Reports
Monthly Reports
Daily Reports of adverse weather conditions
Rainfall Analysis
Wind Analysis
Sunshine Analysis
Temperature Analysis
Please contact the Met Office for further information and rates.
e-mail: gibmet@gibnynex.gi
Fax: (350) 53474
Telephone: (350) 53415/53419. |
| Climate |
|
 The climate of Gibraltar is
considerably modified by the local topography and proximity of the Mediterranean and
Atlantic Oceans.
Gibraltar's weather is governed by the "Levanter and Ponien te", local winds that blow through the Strait from an
easterly or westerly direction. In summer, the mainly dry season, the wind from the East
or Levanter, brings warm and humid conditions and generates a rather persistent 'Rock Top'
cloud that hangs over the city area. Sea fog is not uncommon on these occasions. The
Poniente or wind from the West, however brings hot, clear and mostly dry weather. |
| Meteorological Peculiarities of Gibraltar |
|
| Because of its location, on the edge of Europe,
close to Africa and guardian of the Strait, linking the Atlantic and the Mediterranean,
Gibraltar is a place of Meteorological extremes. |
| Topography |
|
| Gibraltar and the immediate Strait area enjoy a
unique position lying at the western entrance to the Alboran Basin which is guarded by the
Atlas mountain range to the south, and Sierra Nevada to the north. These ranges act as a
massive barrier to air entering or leaving the Alboran Basin and consequently, in the
Strait Area, the low level air is constrained to flow in mainly easterly or westerly
streams. |
| Summer in
Gibraltar |
|
 Summer is dry and warm with
an average of 10.5 hours of sunshine per day. The summer drought frequently lasts 90
consecutive days.
The mean temperature in August is 24.3°C. |
| Winter in Gibraltar
|
|
 Winter
in Gibraltar can be a mixture of fine, wet and cool weather. On average only 30% of days
are classified as 'wet', although rainfall amounts can be variable in the extreme. The
mean temperature in January is 13.5°C. |
| 5 Day and shipping forecasts |
|
The Office is one of the few in the region that
is continuously manned for both forecasting and observations. Whilst our main work
concentrates on the weather of Gibraltar, nearby Spain and the Straits we are able to
provide reliable guidance for up to five days over most of Europe, North Africa and for
the Canary Islands.
Forecasts available:
SAILING/SHIPPING:
The Alboran
Gibraltar to The Canaries
WINDSURFING:
Tarifa - latest conditions - outlook for next five days
PHOTOGRAPHY:
General weather and cloud conditions along the Costas
HOLIDAY WEATHER:
Five day outlook for Gibraltar and Spanish resorts
For Further Information Please Contact - Duty Forecaster Tel: 53416
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| Last
Revised : 27 October 1999 |
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