Madrid, the Spanish capital, sits almost exactly in the centre of the country on the high central plateau (meseta) at around 650 metres above sea level, at approximately 40.42°N, 3.70°W. Ringed by mountains and far from any sea, it has a continental Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa/Bsk) with hot, dry summers and cold winters — a much greater seasonal swing than the Spanish coasts, captured in the local joke of 'nine months of winter and three of hell'.

Summer, from June to August, is hot, dry and intensely sunny, with July and August the hottest months — average highs around 32–33°C, frequently climbing past 35°C and sometimes topping 40°C in heatwaves. The saving grace is low humidity, which makes the heat far more bearable than on the humid coast, and the altitude brings cooler evenings once the sun goes down. Rain in these months is very rare.

Winter, from December to February, is cold for Spain, with January the coldest month — average highs around 10–11°C but nights that regularly fall to freezing or below, sharpened by cold winds off the snow-capped Sierra de Guadarrama nearby. Frost is common, and light snow falls in the city most winters, though heavy snowfalls like the extraordinary Storm Filomena of January 2021, which buried Madrid, are rare.

Madrid is dry, receiving only around 430–440 mm of rain a year, the least of Spain's big cities, with the wettest months in spring and autumn — particularly around April and October to November — and a pronounced dry summer. Rain often comes in short, heavy bursts rather than steady falls. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.

Madrid's altitude and inland, mountain-ringed position are the keys to its climate: they give it the hot, dry summers and genuinely cold, frost-prone winters that set it apart from the mild Mediterranean coasts, along with a large day-to-night temperature swing and famously clear, sunny skies. Spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons, avoiding both the summer furnace and the winter chill.

To follow any single measurement in Madrid more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.