The numbers for July
Two stations, two periods, both named. Mixing them is how a levada walk goes wrong.
| Measure | Funchal | Areeiro |
|---|---|---|
| Mean daily maximum | 25.4 °C | 18.6 °C |
| Mean daily minimum | 19.7 °C | 10.7 °C |
| Precipitation | 1.7 mm | 13.2 mm |
| Days with 1 mm or more | 0.3 days | 3.4 days |
What the mountain is doing at the same time
In July Funchal reaches 25.4 °C by day. At Areeiro, on the central ridge, the same month averages 18.6 °C — a difference of 6.8 °C, and that is the daytime figure, not the night.
Rainfall separates them further: 1.7 mm in Funchal against 13.2 mm at Areeiro, 7.8 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 22.6 °C off Funchal in July 2011. That is one observed year, not a normal — it corroborates the shape of the curve and nothing more.
What’s on in July
Nothing on the regional calendar falls in July. That is a real answer, not a gap — it is the quietest kind of month to visit.
What July is actually like
July is effectively rainless — 1.7 mm across 0.3 rain days — with 220.5 hours of sun, 25.4 °C by day and 19.7 °C at night. It is also the month when the mountain is least unlike the coast: Areeiro reaches 18.6 °C, a gap of only 6.8 °C, the narrowest of the year, and takes 13.2 mm of rain against January’s 437.8 mm.
Three things worth checking before you book
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.