Why is the weather in Portugal so good in Winter?

It's a well-known fact that the Algarve weather is some of the best in Europe during Winter months, but why is that? Surrounding territories are frequently subject to extremes of temperature - take January 2017 for example, where snow has fallen in Greece and Italy as well as across higher lands in Africa.

Check out the weather map above though and you'll see that the Lagos area where we are is seemingly insulated from the extremes. Mind you, you'll note that the night-time temperature is 1C, so although it may look good, it's still cold. However, that's an exception as a very cold front sweeps across Europe.

Typical daytime temperatures are in the range of 15C to 20C although, as today, it can be colder - we are currently on a high of 11C. Once out of the breeze, the sun is hot! And that's what it's all about really, because the Portuguese Algarve expects at least five hours of full sun a day in Winter. Clothing-wise, therefore, it's all about layers. Once you step into the shade and have a direct wind on you, you'll soon cool down. Move towards the West coast and the wind coming off the Atlantic brings huge waves, ideal for surfing, tied in with the sun. However, that wind is cold! Anoraks and fleeces are the order of the day around here.

Once again, it's the Gulf Stream that adds in its favours to help things along, although only indirectly. It flows northwards up the coast of the US, but then branches out to become a number of separate currents that affect Northern Europe. One of these currents is the Portugal Current that sweeps gently back down past the West coast of Portugal, raising temperatures as it goes.

Contrast this with Spain, where the huge bulk of the country is the Meseta Central, a vast plateau whose heights range up to 760m. Up here, it's bloomin' cold! It gets warmer when you get further south and the land levels down, as it does into Portugal, to the West. When the winds come from the North, in Portugal, they're frequently blowing across this cold land mass so the temperature drops.

So, wind, waves and sunshine - all conspiring to make Portugal the warm haven that it is in Winter.