Algarve weather by monthFaro, the west and the east

The Algarve has hot, dry summers and mild, wetter winters. On IPMA’s official 1991–2020 normals for Faro, the average high runs from 16.3 °C in January to 29.4 °C in July, and nearly nine-tenths of the 455 mm of yearly rain falls from October to April [1]. The coast is not uniform: in July the mean daily high is about 4 °C lower at Sagres in the west and about 1 °C higher at Tavira in the east than at Faro, while January highs at the three stations are within a degree [1][2][3]. Off Faro the sea ranges from 15.8 to 21.6 °C in the monthly averages [8]. The air figures are 30-year averages, not a forecast.

Algarve weather month by month (Faro)

Air temperature and rain: IPMA normals 1991–2020 for Faro, station 554 (5 m) [1]. Sea: NOAA OISST v2.1 offshore surface temperatures, 2001–2020, calculated and checked on 11 October 2026 (Faro 36.875° N, 7.875° W [8]). We average daily values within each month and year, then give each of the 20 annual monthly means equal weight. These 0.25° grid cells are coastal proxies, not measurements at individual beaches or a forecast. IPMA’s normals file has no sunshine figures, so this table leaves them out rather than mixing in another source.

Month	High °C	Low °C	Rain mm	Rainy days	Sea °C
January	16.3	8.3	49.3	6.0	16.6
February	17.0	8.8	41.9	5.4	15.8
March	18.9	10.8	46.8	5.6	15.8
April	20.7	12.4	39.0	5.3	16.7
May	23.5	15.0	26.2	3.8	18.1
June	26.8	17.8	5.1	0.8	19.9
July	29.4	19.6	0.9	0.2	21.0
August	29.2	19.9	3.0	0.2	21.5
September	26.4	18.3	21.5	1.9	21.6
October	23.3	15.8	56.0	6.0	21.0
November	19.6	11.9	75.5	6.6	19.2
December	17.1	9.7	90.0	7.0	17.6

“High” and “Low” are the mean daily maximum and minimum. “Rainy days” counts days with at least 1 mm. Year at Faro: mean 18.2 °C, 455.1 mm of rain on 48.9 days, 115.2 days reaching 25 °C and 35.5 days reaching 30 °C [1]. IPMA describes the Faro series as hybrid (observed and modelled data) [1].

• Warm nights (minimum of 20 °C or more): 44.7 a year, mostly in July (12.9) and August (14.9) [1].
• Very hot days (35 °C or more): 3.1 a year. The highest reading in the period was 44.3 °C on 25 July 2004 [1].
• Frost: none on average. The lowest reading in 30 years was −0.3 °C, on 5 February 2012 [1].
• Heavy rain (10 mm or more in a day): 15.6 days a year, most in December (3.2) and November (2.7). The wettest day was 90.0 mm on 23 December 1992 [1].

The sea column uses a fixed twenty-year period and includes satellite and in situ observations in a gridded analysis; daily beach temperatures can differ. [8]

West, south and east: how much the coast varies

One “Algarve” number hides a real spread. The IPMA 1991–2020 normals we could find for the Algarve are for two stations, Sagres at the south-western tip and Faro in the middle of the south coast [1][2]; files for Lagos, Tavira, Portimão and Aljezur were not found on 10 October 2026. For the east we use Tavira, from a different compiler (Météo Climat, reproduced on Wikipedia), so treat small differences with care [3].

	Sagres (west) [2]	Faro (centre) [1]	Tavira (east) [3]
January high / low	16.1 / 8.5 °C	16.3 / 8.3 °C	15.4 / 6.6 °C
July high / low	25.2 / 17.0 °C	29.4 / 19.6 °C	30.7 / 19.2 °C
August high / low	25.9 / 17.4 °C	29.2 / 19.9 °C	29.8 / 18.7 °C
Days reaching 30 °C a year	8.5	35.5	not published
Rain a year	450.5 mm, 56.6 days	455.1 mm, 48.9 days	436.3 mm, 47.2 days
Highest in 1991–2020	40.4 °C (4 Aug 2018)	44.3 °C (25 Jul 2004)	not used

Tavira’s yearly totals are our sums of the monthly values [3]. On these figures:

• Summer is where the coast differs. In July the mean daily high is 25.2 °C at Sagres, 29.4 °C at Faro and 30.7 °C at Tavira; in June and August the gaps are smaller, about 3 to 4 °C between Sagres and the others [1][2][3]. Sagres also has far fewer warm nights: 5.8 a year with a minimum of 20 °C or more, against 44.7 at Faro [1][2].
• Winter days are almost the same. January mean highs at the three stations are within a degree of each other; nights differ more (6.6 to 8.5 °C). Tavira’s winter nights are the coolest of the three (6.6 °C in January) [3].
• The west has more rain days, not more rain. Sagres gets about the same yearly total as Faro but spread over more days (56.6 against 48.9) [1][2].

We did not find a published IPMA 1991–2020 normals file for Lagos, between Sagres and Faro; our Lagos weather by month uses a modelled dataset for the town itself. For the details of each end of the coast, see Sagres weather by month and, for the central resorts, Vilamoura weather by month, which uses the same Faro station.

Sea temperature along the coast

Sea: NOAA OISST v2.1 offshore surface temperatures, 2001–2020, calculated and checked on 11 October 2026 (Sagres 36.875° N, 9.125° W [9]; Lagos 36.875° N, 8.625° W [10]; Faro 36.875° N, 7.875° W [8]; Tavira 36.875° N, 7.625° W [11]). We average daily values within each month and year, then give each of the 20 annual monthly means equal weight. These 0.25° grid cells are coastal proxies, not measurements at individual beaches or a forecast.

Monthly average	Sagres	Lagos	Faro	Tavira
March	15.7 °C	15.5 °C	15.8 °C	15.8 °C
July	19.5 °C	19.5 °C	21.0 °C	21.4 °C
August	19.9 °C	20.0 °C	21.5 °C	21.9 °C
September	20.6 °C	20.6 °C	21.6 °C	21.8 °C
October	20.3 °C	20.3 °C	21.0 °C	21.0 °C

The same NOAA method and period are used on our Lagos and Sagres weather pages. In July the offshore Tavira point averages 21.4 °C against 19.5 °C at the point south-west of Sagres. These are regional comparisons, not guarantees of swimming conditions at a particular beach. [11][9]

What the seasons feel like

Winter (December to February). Highs of 16–17 °C at Faro, lows of 8–10 °C and five to seven rain days a month, with December the wettest month [1]. Off Faro, December–February sea averages range from 15.8 to 17.6 °C [8]. Good for walking, sightseeing and a quiet working stay; too cold for most swimmers. If you rent a flat for the winter, ask what heating it has before you book.

Spring (March to May). Highs climb from 18.9 °C to 23.5 °C and rain days fall to about four in May [1]. March–May sea averages off Faro rise from 15.8 to 18.1 °C [8].

Summer (June to August). Hot and nearly rainless at Faro and Tavira, with highs of 27–31 °C; noticeably cooler on the west coast [1][2][3]. June–August sea averages off Faro rise from 19.9 to 21.5 °C [8].

Autumn (September to November). September is still summer (26.4 °C, 1.9 rain days); October is warm with the first autumn rain; November brings 75.5 mm on 6.6 days [1]. Sea averages off Faro are 21.6 °C in September and 21.0 °C in October [8].

What autumn means for a trip: the Algarve in autumn.

Best months by trip

• Beach holiday: June to September; compare the sea averages above with the weather and lifeguard coverage for your dates.
• Hiking and the west coast: spring and autumn, when days are mild along the whole coast; see east or west Algarve.
• Working stay: October to May, with mild days and fewer visitors. See working remotely in the Algarve.

For crowds, prices and the full decision by trip type, see best time to visit the Algarve.

Sources

1. IPMA, Normal Climatológica 1991–2020, Faro, station 554 (PDF), accessed 10 October 2026.
2. IPMA, Normal Climatológica 1991–2020, Sagres, station 533 (PDF), accessed 10 October 2026.
3. Wikipedia, Tavira: climate box with Météo Climat 1991–2020 normals, accessed 10 October 2026.
4. NOAA OISST v2.1: dataset description, accessed 11 October 2026.
5. NOAA OISST v2.1: dataset description, accessed 11 October 2026.
6. NOAA OISST v2.1: dataset description, accessed 11 October 2026.
7. NOAA OISST v2.1: dataset description, accessed 11 October 2026.
8. NOAA OISST v2.1 Final: daily offshore SST, faro (36.875 N, 7.875 W), 2001–2020; monthly means calculated from 20 annual monthly means, accessed 11 October 2026.
9. NOAA OISST v2.1 Final: daily offshore SST, sagres (36.875 N, 9.125 W), 2001–2020; monthly means calculated from 20 annual monthly means, accessed 11 October 2026.
10. NOAA OISST v2.1 Final: daily offshore SST, lagos (36.875 N, 8.625 W), 2001–2020; monthly means calculated from 20 annual monthly means, accessed 11 October 2026.
11. NOAA OISST v2.1 Final: daily offshore SST, tavira (36.875 N, 7.625 W), 2001–2020; monthly means calculated from 20 annual monthly means, accessed 11 October 2026.

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