The chief of Lanzarote’s emergency services, Enrique Espinosa, has said that this winter has seen a return to normal rainfall patterns.
“We haven’t seen this phenomenon for ten years,” Espinosa told Lancelot TV. “It used to rain on the island, and this winter it hasn’t stopped. The island is beautiful.”
December was the wettest and coldest month for several years, and rainfall this January has already far exceeded the total registered in the previous three years, during which the island suffered a prolonged drought. Last January saw only 1.2 mms of rain while no rainfall at all was recorded in January 2024.
This January so far, rainfall on Lanzarote has varied from 6.2 litres in Órzola to 2.2 mms in Costa Teguise, according to data provided by the Emergency Consortium. Northern and inland areas have generally experienced more rain than the southern coasts, but no part of the island has been spared.
Apart from the benefits to the island’s agriculture and wildlife, another positive feature of this winter’s rains has been that they have not been severe – causing very little flooding and damage.
More rain is expected in coming days, as the islands experience the tail-end of a cold front that has arrived on mainland Spain. Longer range forecasts are more difficult, but anyone who has been to a few carnivals will know that February and March can also be fairly wet.
