- The average rainfall in this quarter was 18.4 l/m2, which is 23% of the average value for that period, and gives the period a very dry character
- Spring begins at 10.02 am next Thursday, March 20
March 17, 2025. Winter 2024-2025 in the Region of Murcia has been the sixth warmest of, at least, the last 64 years, with an average temperature of 10.8°C, and an anomaly of +1.4°C with respect to the average value, which, in addition, places it as the fourth warmest of the 21st century, as detailed in a press conference the Territorial delegate of AEMET.
“Maximum temperatures contributed more to this very warm thermometric character, with an average of 16.6°C and an anomaly of +2.0°C, being the third highest value of the whole series, after winters 2023-2024 and 1994-1995. The average of the minimums, 4.9°C, with an anomaly of 0.7°C, has been the fifth highest in the 21st century”, explained Juan Esteban Palenzuela.
It is worth highlighting the characteristics of the last seven winters, warm, very warm or extremely warm, from 2018-2019 to 2024-2025.
The months of December, with an average temperature of 10.7°C and an anomaly +1.1°C, January, with an average temperature of 10.4°C and anomaly +1.6°C, and February, with an average temperature of 11.3°C and anomaly +1.5°C, have been very warm.
The highest average daily temperature of the quarter took place on January 27 and the lowest on January 14 and 16.
The highest mean maximum was recorded on December 6, followed very closely by January 27, with the quarterly absolute maximum, 28.4°C, recorded in the Murcia station “Alfonso X”.
“This figure has the uniqueness of having been the highest value of the entire winter period recorded in peninsular Spain. That same day the maximum at the main observatory of Murcia was 28.1°C. The day with the lowest average maximum was January 17, registering the lowest quarterly maximum, 1.4°C this day, in Inazares, Moratalla”, added Palenzuela.
The highest mean minimum was also observed on January 27, being the highest quarterly absolute minimum, 16.0°C this day at the Tentegorra station (Cartagena). The day with the lowest average minimum was January 15, registering the quarterly absolute minimum, -9.0°C, this day, in the Valdediablo reservoir (Lorca).
In general, temperatures were above normal values on most winter days.
Due to its intensity and duration, the following warm episodes can be highlighted:
- Between 1st and 7th December. On day 6 the average regional peak temperature exceeded 23ºC.
- From 17th to 20th December.
- Between 7th and 12th January
- From 21st to 28th January. The mean maximums and the mean regional minimums exceeded, on day 27, the 23 and 11°C respectively.
- From February 8 to 21, this being the most persistent warm episode of winter.
Precipitation
The average rainfall over the Region of Murcia between December 2024 and February 2025 was 18.4 liters per square meter (l/m2), which represents only 23% of the average value for that period, and a very dry character. This winter is the third driest of the last 64 years, behind the winters 2018-2019 (10.4 l/m2) and 2021-2022 (17.2 l/m2).
It should be noted that this winter has been the fourth consecutive with a very dry character, and that the previous one was dry. “The month of December, with an average rainfall of 7.6 l/m2, was very dry, the eighth driest in the 21st century. The month of January, with 3.8 l/m2 was also very dry, the sixth driest in the 21st century and the month of February with 7.0 l/m2 was dry”, the Territorial delegate of AEMET has expanded.
In this period two significant precipitation periods were observed, the first, from December 29 to January 1, in which 43% of the precipitation of the quarter was accumulated, and the second, on February 22 with 24% of precipitation of the quarter.
During this winter, rainfall of more than 50 l/m2 accumulated on the southern and southeastern coast of the Region, the largest accumulated rainfall being 64 l/m2, in the Águilas station. Where less precipitation accumulated was in points of the region of the Altiplano and Alto Guadalentín, with values lower than 10 l/m2, as in Jumilla with 9 l/m2.
The maximum monthly rainfall of the quarter, 43.2 l/m2, was recorded in the month of December at the Águilas station. The maximum quarterly daily rainfall, 35.8 l/m2, was recorded at the San Pedro del Pinatar station on December 31. The maximum accumulated in one hour was 16.2 l/m2 on December 31 in Las Salinas de Cabo de Palos, and the maximum in ten minutes, 2.2 l/m2, in Tentegorra, Cartagena, on December 30.
Hail
On the night of December 30 to 31, there was hail-shaped precipitation in Cartagena and snow-shaped above 1800 meters in the Northwest Region. In the month of January, on the night of 16 to 17, snow was recorded above 1300 meters of altitude, accumulating up to 5 cm of thickness in Campo de San Juan. Snow was also observed, above 1000 meters, during the night of January 27 to 28, accumulating approximately 1 cm in Inazares, Moratalla.
Analyzing the series of days of precipitation in the form of snow of the December-February quarter in the station of Cañada de la Cruz, Moratalla, at 1271 meters of altitude, it is observed that the days of snow in this winter, 2 days, have been well below the average value, 8.6 days, for the reference period 1990/91-2019/20.
March 2025 advance in the Region of Murcia
The beginning of March was marked by the positioning of a very extensive cold isolated low with several centers of low pressure to the southwest and south of the peninsula, which gave rise to strong or very strong showers, very persistent rainfall in the Region and strong winds.
Starting on day 7, the Jana Storm, the tenth of the season’s great impact, caused widespread rains, with strong winds. From day 10, the arrival of other Atlantic flutes (Konrad and Laurence) with their associated fronts left strong or very strong showers with occasional presence of non-severe hail.
During the first fortnight of the month, the maximum temperatures were most of the time below the normal values, while the minimum ones remained until day 13 well above the expected values, mainly due to the presence of cloudiness.
In the first half of March there was an average rainfall in the Region of Murcia of 173 liters per square meter (l/m2), which is more than five times the value of the median for this month (30.0 l/m2). With this accumulated, and if it did not rain more, the month would already have an extremely humid character, and would already be the second most humid March of the last 65 years, behind only March 2022 with 213 l/m2.
More than 300 l/m2 were accumulated in large areas of the Northwest region, exceeding 450 l/m2 in Cehegín, registering in this station, on day 5, the maximum daily rainfall of this fortnight 218.2 l/m2.
The precipitations reached strong intensities in several points of the Region from 1 to 6, and very strong in the stations of Totana (day 2), Calasparra (day 3) and Cehegín (day 5, rainfall).
Ephemeris of precipitation have been overcome both daily and monthly (with only 15 days elapsed of the month) in several stations of the Region, especially in the regions of the Guadalentín Valley, Lorca and Águilas, as in the Northwest.
7 storm days have been recorded, on days 1,2,4,6,9, 11 and 14, with a total of 155 discharges, the day with the highest number of discharges was 14, with 78 discharges.
The precipitation was accompanied by hail, on March 11, 12 and 14.
Hydrological year (1 October 2024 to 15 March 2025)
The precipitations collected between October 1, 2024 and March 15, 2025, 270 l/m2, represent 163% of the average value for the same period, which means a very humid character, the third most humid of the last 64 years, after 2016-2017, with 344 l/m2, and 1972-1973, with 277 l/m2.