Weather in Funchal in March

A good month. March works. It is not the peak, but nothing about it fights you. Highs average 16.5 °C, lows 14.3 °C, and rain falls on 9 days — nothing in the month is working against you.

March ranks 12 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: March is the weakest month of Funchal's year and it is still a perfectly good one. The downside here is small.

Rain on 9 days, 1 of them heavy. Enough to need a plan B, not enough to need a plan around it. Pack for 16.5 °C days and 14.3 °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 — 2.2 °C between the overnight low and the afternoon high. Across the twenty years measured, the hottest March day reached 21.3 °C and the coldest night fell to 10.7 °C, and the wettest single day dropped 58 mm — roughly 132% of the month's rain in one day.

March is moderately variable: 6 mm in the driest year against 153 mm in the wettest, around an average of 44 mm. Roughly two Marchs in three land near that average, and the third does something else entirely.

Wind sits around 19.4 km/h — a steady breeze rather than a nuisance, and welcome on the warmer days, and humidity runs at 78%, high enough to notice on the warm days without dominating them.

How March sits in the year

Temperatures hold steady either side: 16.1 °C in February, 16.5 here, 17.1 in April. Nothing about the timing within the month matters much.

Daylight in March

11.9 hours of daylight, gaining 1 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 18.2 °C in March — 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.

March 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 March — 2.7 °C warmer, 5 days less rain. Agadir is a better bet in March — 9.8 °C warmer, 4 days less rain.

So: March 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 March.