After first realising their potential in the 1970's the Canary Islands have grown to become one of the most important holiday areas for Europeans seeking a warm winter destination with the need to fly too far.
Naturally climate is paramount for any place trying to establish itself as a holiday destination and the Canaries are almost unique in Europe in benefitting from warm dry weather for most of the year. The length of fine weather periods is also very important in terms of how viable a holiday resort can be for any businesses that rely on tourism. In that respect the Canaries are also amongst the best locations in Europe, having a long summer season in addition to a busy and successful winter season.
Of course their situation is unrivalled in Europe as they lie over 600 miles south of the nearest part of mainland Europe and are much closer to the North African countries of Morocco and Western Sahara. It is the Sahara desert that brings the dry weather to the Canary Islands and makes the chance of rain very slim. The air that has passed over the vast expanse of the Sahara desert has been warmed and dried before it reaches the islands, meaning that the air temperature of the islands never really falls to a level that even northern Europeans could consider wintery. The Saharan winds can however whip up clouds of dusty air and carry them across the sea to the Canaries. These are more prevalent during February and March and are not normally a major problem, certainly not during the main periods of peak tourist activity.
The weather systems that produce and control the area around the islands is made up of several important components. In addition to the impact of the Sahara desert as already mentioned, the Atlantic Gulf stream is also an important contributor. This warm drift of Atlantic Ocean water starts in the Gulf of Mexico and travels quickly across the Atlantic towards Europe and North Western Africa where it re-circulates. The impact of the tail end of the Gulf Stream is said affect the climate of this part of the world. More specifically when the Gulf Stream reaches Europe it becomes known as the North Atlantic Drift and splits into two parts. The northern component which travels upwards along the west coast of Ireland is said to significantly contribute to warmer temperatures, while the southern component (also known as the Canary Current) has a slightly less significant effect, as temperatures are already warmer in that part of the East Atlantic.
Apart from the peaks of the volcanoes that caused the creation of the islands originally, some 3 million years ago, there are no other high mountain areas anywhere near the Canaries. Thisprevents any frequent creation of wet weather, certainly from the East, so any rain clouds are usually form out over the Atlantic and are driven towards the islands from the West. The warm re-circulating Gulf Stream air has the effect of diverting most of the wet weather systems to the north before they reach the Canaries, leading to dry conditions for most of the time. Of course the islands are not totally without rain, otherwise they would not have been so successful in terms of agriculture. There are still significant producers of several crops such as bananas and tomatoes, but these are typically fruits that require long spells of dry days full of sunshine, as is often found on the islands. The peak month for rainfall is December, with the summer months of June, July and August having barely any rain at all.
You would have to be very unlucky to experience an extended spell of cold weather on the islands. Average daytime temperatures rarely fall below 15 degrees Celsius, even during winter and maximum daytime temperatures can exceed twenty degrees Celsius at any time of year.
So the holiday islands of Tenerife, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria and La Palma really do have the benefit of weather patterns unique amongst European countries and as such they are set to remain as very popular tourist destinations for years to come.
Weather is a major influence for anyone considering booking
cheap flights to Tenerife and they are unlikely to be disappointed. The reliable, warm climate on Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, La Palma and Tenerife are explained in this review by Mark Bartley.
