The numbers for April
Two stations, two periods, both named. Mixing them is how a levada walk goes wrong.
| Measure | Funchal | Areeiro |
|---|---|---|
| Mean daily maximum | 21.0 °C | 9.0 °C |
| Mean daily minimum | 14.9 °C | 3.2 °C |
| Precipitation | 45.2 mm | 211.6 mm |
| Days with 1 mm or more | 4.7 days | 15.1 days |
What the mountain is doing at the same time
In April Funchal reaches 21.0 °C by day. At Areeiro, on the central ridge, the same month averages 9.0 °C — a difference of 12.0 °C, and that is the daytime figure, not the night.
Rainfall separates them further: 45.2 mm in Funchal against 211.6 mm at Areeiro, 4.7 times as much.
People plan levada walks off the Funchal forecast. That is the mistake this section exists to prevent — the two stations are 25 km and 1500 m apart, and they are not describing the same day.
The sea
Off Funchal the monthly mean runs between 17.8 °C in March and 23.3 °C in September, averaging 20.2 °C over the year. IPMA has never printed a sea-temperature normal, so this is the closest honest figure there is.
IPMA measured 18.4 °C off Funchal in April 2011. That is one observed year, not a normal — it corroborates the shape of the curve and nothing more.
What’s on in April
Flower Festival
A month of floral displays across Funchal, built around the Wall of Hope and two parades. Hotels fill for the parade weekends specifically.
What April is actually like
April carries 45.2 mm over 4.7 rain days and a daytime mean of 21.0 °C — the same figure as December, which is the whole point about this coast. Areeiro is still on 211.6 mm and 9.0 °C, so the Flower Festival weather in Funchal tells you nothing useful about the levada you booked for the Tuesday.
Three things worth checking before you book
“Madeira has no winter” is true at sea level and only there. Funchal records 0.0 days below 0 °C in every month of its normals. Areeiro’s February normal carries 3 nights below freezing, and that is the ground the levada walks cross.
The north really is wetter, by more than the guides say. Annual precipitation in the 1971–2000 normals: Funchal 596 mm, Santana on the north coast 1383 mm, Areeiro on the ridge 2620 mm.
The leste is real. It is an easterly off the Sahara, documented by IPMA, and it can push temperatures to about 35 °C and relative humidity down towards 5 % in the mountains. It usually lasts 3 days or fewer, and IPMA names February–April and August–October as its windows.