The Canary Islands experienced an exceptionally wet May according to the standards set by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), with an average of 8.7 litres per square metre collected at island stations. This ranks it as the eleventh wettest since records began. Based on the initial climatic summary released by Aemet this Thursday, the average accumulated rainfall in the archipelago last month was 178% above the expected value for May, marking it as significantly wet according to the 1991-2020 reference period.
In terms of provinces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife saw more intense rainfall, averaging 14.6 litres per square metre, compared to the 3.7 recorded by Aemet stations in the Las Palmas province. The main rainfall event during this period occurred from 8th to 13th May, with widespread showers across the archipelago, although unevenly distributed, with the highest accumulations in Tenerife and La Palma. Light rain persisted during the rest of the month, notably from 16th to 19th and between 21st and 29th May.
Which places saw the most rainfall? The stations with the highest totals were all located on Tenerife, including La Orotava with 112.4 litres per square metre, Benijo with 93.1, Icod de los Vinos with 84, and Aguamansa with 83.9.
Regarding temperatures, the Canary Islands had an average of 17.9 degrees Celsius in May, indicating no thermal anomaly relative to the reference period. Therefore, Aemet classed this month’s temperatures as normal. By province, Las Palmas recorded a slightly higher average than the reference period at 19.5 degrees, or 0.2 degrees above, while in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the average was 14.5 degrees, 0.3 degrees below the reference.
Throughout this period, the archipelago recorded 44 tropical nights across all network stations, one of the lowest figures in the past decade. Additionally, Aemet noted that three temperature records were broken this May. In Bañaderos, Arucas (Gran Canaria), the station noted its highest ever May temperature at 23.9 degrees, and also its lowest at 12.8 degrees. Similarly, Melenara station in Telde, Gran Canaria, recorded its lowest ever temperature at 12.2 degrees Celsius.
