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Bilbao weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Average temperatures in Bilbao follow a clear seasonal rhythm, rising and falling by 11.2°C over the course of the year. The heavier rain months run from October to May. Bilbao weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, extremes and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

−3.2°Chigh well below average

16° / 5°Today
19° / 13°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+1.5°Caverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–490frost days a year now (2016–2025) · 5 in the 1940sfrost days a year · 5 in the 1940s5days above 30°C a year now (2016–2025) · 4 in the 1940sdays above 30°C · 4 in the 1940s+1.5°C vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 119 mmhigh 12°low 7°February, rain 101 mmhigh 13°low 7°March, rain 96 mmhigh 14°low 8°April, rain 106 mmhigh 16°low 10°May, rain 97 mmhigh 18°low 12°June, rain 77 mmhigh 21°low 15°July, rain 61 mmhigh 23°low 17°August, rain 63 mmhigh 24°low 17°September, rain 80 mmhigh 22°low 16°October, rain 101 mmhigh 19°low 13°November, rain 126 mmhigh 15°low 10°December, rain 118 mmhigh 13°low 8°wettest month November, 126 mm · 1,145 mm a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Partly cloudy

Right now

8.9°

8°feels like
95%humidity
8°dew point
3 km/hfrom S
UV index0.5
sunrise08:31sunset19:21day length10h 50m
TodayPartly cloudy16°5°
WedPartly cloudy16°8°
ThuOvercast20°6°
FriMostly clear19°13°
SatOvercast16°12°
SunLight rain18°14°
MonPartly cloudy21°14°

On this date: October 20

Today (forecast)
16° / 5°
Average for October 20
19° / 13°

High well below average · −3.2°C

  • Highest since 1940: 25.4° · 2004
  • Lowest since 1940: 7.8° · 1975
  • One year ago: 22° / 16°

Every October 20 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 20 on record (n = 87). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for Bilbao is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 43.26°N, 2.93°W, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
43.26°N, 2.93°W
Time zone
Europe/Madrid
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

23 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +1.1°C.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

August brings the year's peak warmth, with afternoons typically reaching 23.6°C and nights around 17.4°C. The coolest month is January, when afternoons reach about 11.9°C and overnight lows sit around 6.8°C. Freezing temperatures almost never occur.

In total, Bilbao averages about 1,145 mm of precipitation a year; November is usually the wettest month (126 mm) and July the driest (61 mm). Precipitation falls on roughly 136 days in a typical year.

Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Bilbao has risen by 1.5°C between its first decade and its last. No period since 1940 has been warmer than the most recent decade.

Climate graph (climograph)

August is the warmest month, January the coolest: a yearly swing of 11°C. Wettest month: November (~126 mm). Whole year averages ~1,145 mm of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Rainy days by month

About 136 rainy days a year: most in April (~14), fewest in July (~8).

Bars = average number of days with ≥ 2 mm per month. Hover for the monthly rainfall total.

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

Bilbao month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Highest and Lowest are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightHighestLowest
January11.9°6.8°119 mm139.1 h21.3° (2023)−8.1° (1957)
February12.7°7.0°101 mm1210.3 h23.8° (2019)−7.6° (1956)
March14.5°8.4°96 mm1211.6 h25.8° (2023)−2.8° (1955)
April15.6°9.7°106 mm1413.2 h27.5° (2024)2.0° (1986)
May18.1°12.1°97 mm1214.5 h32.6° (1996)5.5° (1945)
June20.9°15.0°77 mm1015.2 h36.3° (2022)8.2° (1953)
July22.9°16.9°61 mm814.9 h34.8° (2022)11.6° (2022)
August23.6°17.4°63 mm913.8 h35.5° (2025)11.6° (1986)
September22.3°15.9°80 mm912.3 h32.6° (1966)8.2° (1972)
October19.5°13.4°101 mm1110.8 h32.8° (2023)4.4° (1940)
November15.2°10.0°126 mm139.5 h25.2° (2015)0.6° (1988)
December12.6°7.8°118 mm138.8 h21.9° (2000)−6.1° (1962)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +1.5°C.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.21°C per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Dec–Feb is warming fastest: +0.29°C per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 30°C per year: 3.5 early in the record → 5.0 recently. Frost days: 5 → 0.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

Hottest day since 1940 in 2022, coldest in 1957: 36.3°C / −8.1°C.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~1,145 mm/year on average. Last decade: +3% vs that average. Long-term trend: +16 mm per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about Bilbao

Which is the warmest month in Bilbao?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Bilbao is August (mean daily temperature of about 20.4°C) and the coolest is January (about 9.3°C).
How does today's temperature in Bilbao compare to the historical average?
On October 20, 2026, Bilbao is forecast to reach a high of 15.9°C and a low of 4.9°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 19.1°C and a low of 13.2°C, so today's high is 3.2°C cooler than that average.
How much has Bilbao warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Bilbao is about 1.5°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Bilbao?
Bilbao receives about 1,145 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with November typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Bilbao?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Bilbao is about 14.6°C. The warmest month is August and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in Bilbao by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Bilbao (°C, full record since 1940): January 12°/7°, February 13°/7°, March 14°/8°, April 16°/10°, May 18°/12°, June 21°/15°, July 23°/17°, August 24°/17°, September 22°/16°, October 19°/13°, November 15°/10°, December 13°/8°.
What is the weather like in Bilbao in summer?
Summer in Bilbao (June to August) is pleasantly warm. Daytime highs sit at 21–24°C and nights at 15–17°C; August is the warmest month. Rain is steady at around 67 mm a month, spread over roughly 9 days. No season is drier.
What is the weather like in Bilbao in winter?
Winter in Bilbao (December to February) is wet and cool. Afternoons run 12–13°C and nights 7–8°C; January is the coldest month. Rain falls on about 13 days a month, adding up to around 112 mm.
What is the weather like in Bilbao in spring?
March to May is spring in Bilbao, and it is fairly mild. March is still 14°C in the afternoon and 8°C at night, May already 18°C and 12°C. Rain is steady at around 100 mm a month, spread over roughly 13 days.
What is the weather like in Bilbao in autumn?
In autumn, September through November, Bilbao is wet and mild. It cools from 22°C by day and 16°C at night in September to 15°C and 10°C in November. Rain picks up through the season: 9 rainy days and 80 mm in September, 13 days and 126 mm in November.
How many days a year does it rain in Bilbao?
On long-term average, Bilbao has about 136 days a year with at least 2 mm of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 1,145 mm.

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