Lanzarote Weather

According to the International Weather Service, Lanzarote has more sunny days than any of the other Canary Islands, except for Fuerteventura. The service goes on to state that Lanzarote has an average rainfall of 150 millimeters, or 5.9 inches, annually. Since the island is located in the sub-tropical zone, Lanzarote has pleasant weather year around. The weather in Lanzarote is one of the biggest draws for tourists.

Lanzarote is hardly ever hit with tropical thunderstorms. The trade winds create a temperature inversion for most of the year. This temperature inversion rests about 900 meters above sea level and only has a depth of 500 meters. Vertical cloud development rarely develops above the island because of this weather condition.

During the months of April through October, the weather in Lanzarote is influence by the trade winds coming from a north-easterly direction. Any other month of the year, the winds can come from almost anywhere.

Visiting Lanzarote will find you enjoying daytime temperatures that rarely go above 32-degrees Celsius. However, there have been times when the daytime temperature has reached 40-degrees Celsius. This hotter daytime temperature occurs when the dry warm winds from the Sahara desert sands get blown over the island.

November through March will find the only significant rainfall Lanzarote will get throughout the year. Most of this rainfall is seen in the northern area of the island because higher elevations are found on this side of the island. The moisture gets trapped in the clouds and is forced to rise over the mountain found in the north. This rise triggers precipitation over the coastline in the north.

Another benefit of the weather in Lanzarote is the expectation of a hurricane. The chances of a hurricane hitting the island are very unlikely. The atmosphere is this part of the world is not suitable for hurricane weather to develop. However, a tropical storm did hit the island in 2005, but it only caused some wind damage and some flash flooding.

Lanzarote has little vegetation dotting its countryside. This was created by the early settlers of the island, as well as the limited rainfall. The early settlers cleared away most of the vegetation so they could stock their lands with sheep and goats. The limited rainfall also contributed to the lack of vegetation. Since about 90 percent of the rainfall the island does get, is not enough to penetrate the soil. The remaining 10 percent of rainfall gets fed into the groundwater system. Most of that groundwater is being used by the many tourist that visit the island and not for irrigating the soil. Hence, the lack of vegetation on the island.

All of these reasons contribute to the magnificent Lanzarote weather. Most tourists will come for the crystal clear water of the Atlantic and to enjoy the many days of sun and shine that covers Lanzarote for a majority of the year.

For more travel informations about Lanzarote island, you can visit Online Travel Guide to Lanzarote Island.