Alicante excels as a beautiful destination for its picturesque landscape, the sea and the good weather all year round.
Autumns and winters in Alicante are mild and sunny. September to November are the months when it rains the most in Alicante. The rain is usually concentrated in just a few hours of heavy showers and it doesn’t stay cloudy for long, allowing the sun to shine most of the days. From December, the weather is more stable and dry. In the city of Alicante, it never snows.
The beach is used by many people up until the end of September or the beginning of October as the water is still hot and the sun can still be quite warm. The coldest month is January, with an average minimum temperature of 6.3°C (43.3°F), but the sun still shines 5.8 hours a day on average. Alicante in autumn and winter is warm, sunny and energetic.
Average Temperatures
The coldest month in Alicante is January, with a minimum average of 6.3°C (43.3°F) but a maximum average of 17°C (62.6°F) in the afternoon.
February is the second coldest month, slightly warmer than January: 7.1°C (44.8°F) minimum and 17.6°C (63.7°F) maximum temperatures.
The weather in Alicante in October is still warm. The maximum average is 24.9°C (76.8°F) and the minimum 14.5°C (58.1°F).
In November and December, average temperatures go down a bit to get us to the coldest month of the year (January as we have seen). The average minimums are 10.3°C (50.5°F) and 7.4°C (45.3°F). But the maximum temperatures are still comfortable: 20.5°C (68.9°F) and 17.7°C (63.9°F).
Sea Water Temperature
Alicante is a seaside city with more than 10 beaches reachable by walk or public transport.
In winter, Alicante beaches are still usable and it is possible to go for a swim if you are a bit brave.
During the day, maximum temperatures can be high, with more than 25°C (or 77°F) on the thermometers and it will be usually sunny. The sea is still at 22.6°C (72.7°F) on average in October, which is fine for a swim, and it cools down to 16.5°C (61.7°F) in December.
Sunshine Days
Even December, the month with the shortest days (about 9h 31min of daylight in the middle of the month), still gets 5.3 hours of sunshine a day on average.
January and February get 5.8 and 6.4 hours of sunshine a day. October gets 7 hours a day, even though it is the month with the most rainy days in Alicante on average.
Rain
October is the month with the most rainy days in Alicante, with an average of 4.5 days of rain as per AEMET.
November is still wet by Alicantinian standards, with an average of 4.2 days. December averages 3.8 days of rain, January 3.6 and February is the driest month of the autumn and winter, with an average of just 3 days of rain.
Only June, July and August in the summer are drier than February on average in Alicante.
Torrential Rains and Flash Floods
The Mediterranean coast is known for its torrential flash floods and Alicante (also its province) is an area that is especially affected by this phenomenon.
The flash flood is known as Gota Fría, which translates to Cold Drop. The press is lately using more and more the technical term DANA –Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos– which translates to Isolated Upper-Level Depression.
An incomplete explanation of this phenomenon is that a small accumulation of cold air travelling across the Atlantic to Europe diverts its course from the main accumulation. When it finds hot air from the Mediterranean Sea -in September the water is still very hot so it warms up the air plus adds a lot of humidity- heavy rains are sometimes formed. There is more on the Wikipedia page for Cold Drops. Alicante is especially affected by Gotas Frías or DANAs but it is a general characteristic of Mediterranean weather.
Some years, Alicante gets heavy -but manageable- rain for a few days. Or maybe nothing. But other years, Alicante gets torrential rain that can be dangerous for a couple of days or so.
One of the most remembered Gotas Frías happened in 1997 (in Spanish), setting one of the city’s rainfall records. After that event, a lot of money has been invested to prepare the city for heavy rains. Now Alicante can tolerate many litres of water per hour safely for the inhabitants.
Is it Going to Rain Gota Fría when I Travel to Alicante?
Another characteristic of this type of rain is how difficult it is to predict where it is going to hit. Heavy rain is formed fast and locally and a city can be hit hard while another city, just 10km away, might not see a drop of rain.
Weather services in Spain are very good at predicting the areas where Gota Fría can happen and when the most dangerous hours are. They raise weather alerts that can be yellow, orange or red. Green is the colour for no alerts.
The press is also very good at informing of these meteorological events so they won’t go unnoticed even by tourists. If you want to check weather alerts in Spain go to the official AEMET page at this link.
Please, always follow the official advice on heavy weather events as it can get very dangerous.
The Most Common Month for Gota Fría or DANA
Even though October has the most rainy days in Alicante, September is the wettest month in the city, with an average of 56 mm in September versus 47 mm in October.
September is the month with most DANAs or Gotas Frías in Alicante on average so October is usually calmer and the eventual rain is lighter.
So you should not think that much about the rain, Cold Drops or DANAs when planning to travel to Alicante. Even if you are unlucky and get some rainy days, there are usually no more than 2 or 3 days in a row being cloudy or rainy. It is not a guarantee but the most common weather behaviour.
Monthly Averages in Alicante
| Month | Min | Max | Mean | Sea | Rain | Rain days | Sunshine per day | Daylight (15th) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.3°C (43.3°F) | 17°C (62.6°F) | 11.7°C (53.1°F) | 14.6°C (58.3°F) | 23 mm | 3.6 | 5.8 h | 9h 46min |
| February | 7.1°C (44.8°F) | 17.6°C (63.7°F) | 12.3°C (54.1°F) | 14.2°C (57.6°F) | 22 mm | 3 | 6.4 h | 10h 45min |
| March | 8.9°C (48.0°F) | 19.6°C (67.3°F) | 14.2°C (57.6°F) | 14.4°C (57.9°F) | 23 mm | 3.4 | 7.3 h | 11h 53min |
| April | 10.9°C (51.6°F) | 21.3°C (70.3°F) | 16.1°C (61.0°F) | 16.3°C (61.3°F) | 29 mm | 4.1 | 8.2 h | 13h 09min |
| May | 14.1°C (57.4°F) | 24.1°C (75.4°F) | 19.1°C (66.4°F) | 19.1°C (66.4°F) | 28 mm | 4 | 8.9 h | 14h 14min |
| June | 18.1°C (64.6°F) | 27.8°C (82.0°F) | 22.9°C (73.2°F) | 22.6°C (72.7°F) | 12 mm | 1.8 | 10.1 h | 14h 49min |
| July | 20.7°C (69.3°F) | 30.3°C (86.5°F) | 25.5°C (77.9°F) | 25.1°C (77.2°F) | 4 mm | 0.6 | 10.6 h | 14h 36min |
| August | 21.2°C (70.2°F) | 30.8°C (87.4°F) | 26°C (78.8°F) | 26.2°C (79.2°F) | 7 mm | 1.1 | 9.8 h | 13h 42min |
| September | 18.5°C (65.3°F) | 28.5°C (83.3°F) | 23.5°C (74.3°F) | 25.2°C (77.4°F) | 56 mm | 3.3 | 8.3 h | 12h 30min |
| October | 14.5°C (58.1°F) | 24.9°C (76.8°F) | 19.7°C (67.5°F) | 22.6°C (72.7°F) | 47 mm | 4.5 | 7 h | 11h 16min |
| November | 10.3°C (50.5°F) | 20.5°C (68.9°F) | 15.4°C (59.7°F) | 19.5°C (67.1°F) | 36 mm | 4.2 | 5.8 h | 10h 08min |
| December | 7.4°C (45.3°F) | 17.7°C (63.9°F) | 12.6°C (54.7°F) | 16.5°C (61.7°F) | 25 mm | 3.8 | 5.3 h | 9h 31min |
How Cold Can It Get in Alicante City?
In Alicante city it never snows, it has exactly 0 days of snow per year. The coldest month on average is January, with a minimum average of 6.3°C (43.3°F). The minimum temperature ever registered in Alicante was -4.6°C on the 12th of February 1956 as per Aemet. It is probably not going to happen again.
Some days it can get to freezing temperatures at night. The average is 0.4 days in January so it is extremely uncommon -not impossible- to be at negative temperatures in Alicante city, not even common at night.
House Insulation
The traditional Mediterranean architecture is designed to dissipate heat very efficiently. To achieve this, houses usually generate a lot of shadow with elements such as awnings and shutters that are found in virtually any house in Spain and, especially, in the Mediterranean.
As we have seen, it doesn’t get very cold in Alicante, with a minimum average of 6.3°C (43.3°F) and a maximum of 17°C (62.6°F) in the coldest month. Traditionally, houses are not very well insulated for the winter. Also, old flats won’t usually have central heating or radiators.
People in many European countries are used to setting the heating to be very warm at home, maybe even to +20°C.
In Alicante, people are -oftentimes- not used to heating the house at all, or they may just use small electric heaters for the rooms needing heat.
There is also the concept of summer and winter pyjamas. People usually sleep in long sleeves and thick pyjamas so as not to be cold at night.
New buildings are better insulated and might be heated by AC units or radiators. If this is important for you, always check with the owners about the heating system before renting or buying a house in Alicante.
Can you Swim in Winter in Alicante?
The sea stays warm until October, when it still averages 22.6°C (72.7°F), and the sun warms the air up to 24.9°C (76.8°F) on average.
If you are a bit brave you can enjoy swimming on Alicante beaches in autumn but the winter is when the waters get colder with a minimum of 14.2°C (57.6°F) in February.
Detailed Weather and What To Do by Month
Alicante has mild winters but not all the cold months are the same.
If you want a detailed explanation of what the weather is like in a particular month plus some clues on what is better to enjoy with that weather click on their respective detailed article:
- Alicante Weather and What to Do in October
- Alicante Weather and What to Do in November
- Alicante Weather and What to Do in December
- Alicante Weather and What to Do in January
- Alicante Weather and What to Do in February
- Alicante Weather and What to Do in March
- Alicante Weather and What to Do in April
- Alicante Weather and What to Do in May