- The figure is four tenths less than last year's 19.5°C
- The pluviometric character of the quarter, with 44.1 l/m2, has been very dry and represents only 41% of the normal
- Winter starts at 4.27 a.m. tomorrow, December 22
- This year has been the warmest since records existed and the fourth driest in the 21st century
December 21, 2023. Autumn 2023, with an average temperature of 19.1, has been the second warmest in the last 63 years in the Region of Murcia, only surpassed by the 19.5° recorded in the same period of 2022, and has had a very dry rainfall, with an average rainfall of 44.1 l/m2, which represents only 41% of the normal, as explained by Juan Esteban Palenzuela, Territorial Delegate of AEMET at a press conference.
The average of the maximum temperatures of the quarter was 25.3°C, with an anomaly of +2.6°C, at only 0.1°C from the date recorded in 2022. The average of the minimums was 13.7°C, with an anomaly of +1.3°C, and has been the fourth highest since 1961, after the autumn of 2022, 2014 and 2006.
The month of September, with an average temperature of 22.7°C and anomaly of +0.9°C, was very warm; October, with 19.5°C and anomaly of +2.0°C, was very warm, the third warmest since 1961; and November, with 15.2°C and anomaly of +2.8°C, was extremely warm, the warmest of its series.
The warmest day of the fall (the highest average temperature in the quarter in the Region as a whole) was September 3, while the coldest was November 23.
In the maximum temperatures, two warm episodes stood out for their duration and intensity:
• From September 23 to October 19.
• From November 9th to 30th, the 14th of this episode being the biggest anomaly.
On the other hand, we must highlight the episode of maxims below normal from September 2 to 4.
In the minimum temperatures there were warm episodes throughout the quarter, but with minor anomalies than in the maximum, and only two episodes with temperatures below normal in the month of November.
The highest peak temperatures, on average, were recorded on September 31, although the absolute maximum of the quarter, 35.5°C, was recorded in Lorca on September 5. The lowest peak temperatures in the quarter were observed, on average, on November 22 and 23, but the lowest peak, 11.5°C, was recorded on October 20 in Campo de San Juan, Moratalla.
The highest minimum temperatures were observed on September 3, but the highest minimum, 26.0°C, was recorded in San Pedro del Pinatar, on September 6. The lowest minimums took place on November 23 and 24, with the absolute minimum of the quarter, -1.5°C, on November 24 at the Bodegas Carchelo station, in Jumilla, with weak frosts observed in the region of the Northwest and Altiplano on November 23, 24, 25 and 26 of that same month.
Precipitation
The cumulative rainfall between September and November 2023 in the Region of Murcia was 44.1 l/m2, which represents 41% of the average value for the same period, and a very dry rainfall. This period is the fourth driest in the 21st century. The month of September, with 38.4 l/m2, was normal; October, with 5.3 l/m2, was very dry; and November, with 0.4 l/m2, was extremely dry.
During this quarter, where more precipitation was recorded was in areas of the Northwest region and Río Mula, with accumulations greater than 100 l/m2, as in Benizar, Moratalla, with 115 l/m2, or Casas Nuevos, Mula, with 114 l/m2. On the contrary, where less precipitation was recorded was in areas of the Altiplano and south of the Region, with values close to 20 l/m2, as in Cartagena, with 22 l/m2.
The most important episodes of precipitation occurred in the month of September, accumulating 89% of the precipitation of the quarter. The highest monthly rainfall was recorded in September in Casas Nuevos, Mula, with 107 l/m2.
The day with the highest rainfall in the Region was September 2, with 19 l/m2 of average rainfall. The maximum daily rainfall was recorded in Alhama “Los Quemados”, with 43.7 l/m2.
The highest intensities in one hour and ten minutes of the quarter were recorded at the Murcia observatory on September 15: of the 42.6 l/m2 recorded that day, 41.8 l/m2 fell in one hour, and 10.4 l/m2 in 10 minutes.
On September 3, there was an extraordinary episode of Saharan dust intrusion that stained the skies with an orange yellow, recalling that of mid-March 2022. On that day, mud rain was observed, in addition to days 12, 15 and 17. In October and November there were no episodes of mud rain.
December month preview
During the first seven days of December we had temperatures below normal values. From day 8, an episode of extraordinarily high temperatures began for the time, exceeding on days 11 and 12 the absolute maximum of December in many stations of the Region. From day 14 the maxims were close to the normal values, while the minimums remained below:
From day 20, it is expected that the maximum temperatures will remain above normal, while the minimum ones will oscillate around normal.
The maximum temperature of day 11 at the observatory of Murcia, 26.6°C, exceeded the maximum temperature ephemeris for a month of December, recorded on December 27, 2021, and the maximum of day 12, 27.2°C, again exceeded the ephemeris of the previous day.
The cumulative rainfall in the Region up to day 20 was 1.5 l/m2, which is only 8% of the median value for the month of December. If it did not rain more between 21 and 31, the character of the month would be very dry. Where more precipitation accumulated was in Torre Pacheco with 7 l/m2, on day 5.
Hydrological year (from 1 October to 20 December 2023)
In the period from October 1 to December 20, a total of 7.2 l/m2 has accumulated, which represents only 7% of the average value for the same period, and an extremely dry rainfall. If it did not rain more until the end of December this period would be the driest since 1961, lower than the ephemeris of 17.9 l/m2, of the same period of the hydrological year 2017-2018.
The month of October was very dry, November extremely dry, and December, if it did not rain any more, would also be very dry.
2023
The average temperature of 2023 in the Region of Murcia (considering the expected data between 20 and 29 December) is 17.9°C, higher by +1.4°C than the average of the reference period, which means an extremely warm character, exceeding by 0.1°C to the previous ephemeris, recorded in 2022, being therefore the warmest year of the last 63 and most likely of at least the last 83 years with records.