The numbers for January
Two stations, two periods, both named. Mixing them is how a levada walk goes wrong.
| Measure | Funchal | Areeiro |
|---|---|---|
| Mean daily maximum | 20.0 °C | 8.0 °C |
| Mean daily minimum | 14.3 °C | 2.9 °C |
| Precipitation | 67.1 mm | 437.8 mm |
| Days with 1 mm or more | 6.2 days | 17.2 days |
What the mountain is doing at the same time
In January Funchal reaches 20.0 °C by day. At Areeiro, on the central ridge, the same month averages 8.0 °C — a difference of 12.0 °C, and that is the daytime figure, not the night.
Rainfall separates them further: 67.1 mm in Funchal against 437.8 mm at Areeiro, 6.5 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 19.4 °C off Funchal in January 2011. That is one observed year, not a normal — it corroborates the shape of the curve and nothing more.
What’s on in January
Funchal illuminations
The city lighting runs from the first of December into January, which is why the January nights look busier than the January weather suggests.
Porto Santo ferry layup
The Lobo Marinho comes out of service for its annual overhaul. While it is out, seats on the Porto Santo flights are reserved for residents — so the island is effectively closed to a day trip.
What January is actually like
January is the wet end of a Funchal winter that is not one: 67.1 mm over 6.2 rain days, and a daytime mean that still reads 20.0 °C. The mountain is the other island — Areeiro takes 437.8 mm in the same month, six and a half times as much, and sits at 8.0 °C by day. Sunshine is at its second lowest of the year, and the Porto Santo ferry is out of the water for most of it.
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.