Weather in Funchal in February

A good month. February is a solid month to be in Funchal. Highs average 16.1 °C, lows 14.1 °C, and rain falls on 8 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

February ranks 11 of 12 — near the bottom of Funchal's year. July is the month that works, and the swing between the two is 25 points, which is a different holiday rather than a slightly better one. Worth keeping in perspective: February is the weakest month of Funchal's year and it is still a perfectly good one. The downside here is small.

Rain on 8 days, 1 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 16.1 °C days and 14.1 °C nights; the spread matters more here than any single number.

What the averages hide

Averages flatten a month, and this one hides a few things: the day barely swings — 2 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest February day reached 19.8 °C and the coldest night fell to 11.5 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 39 mm — roughly 87% of the month's rain in one day.

This is the volatile part. February rainfall has ranged from 12 mm to 134 mm across the twenty years measured — a 122 mm spread around an average of 45 mm. The average is real but almost no individual February looks like it, so treat the figure as the middle of a wide range rather than a forecast.

Wind sits around 18.5 km/h — a steady breeze rather than a nuisance, and welcome on the warmer days, and humidity runs at 77%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How February sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 16.5 °C in January, 16.1 here, 16.5 in March. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in February

11 hours of daylight, gaining 0.9 hours across the month. That is between Funchal's extremes of 14.3 and 10 hours, so days are long enough not to constrain the plan.

Sea temperature

The sea sits at about 18.4 °C in February — swimmable, but it takes a moment to commit. The sea peaks at 23.9 °C in September and bottoms out at 18.2 °C — water lags the air by a month or two, which is why the best swimming often comes after the best weather.

How busy it gets

Off season. The genuine off season: cheapest by a distance, with the caveat that some tours and restaurants close entirely.

Crowd levels are estimated from climate desirability and school-holiday calendars, not from visitor numbers.

February in Funchal versus nearby

If Funchal is one option among several, the nearby comparison is worth making. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria is a better bet in February — 2.6 °C warmer, 2 days less rain. Agadir is a better bet in February — 7.7 °C warmer, 4 days less rain.

So: February is a compromise. July is 25 points better and is what Funchal is actually like at its best — worth moving the trip for if that is possible, and worth adjusting expectations for if it is not.

Every month in Funchal

See all twelve months in Funchal, or where else to go in February.