Has it rained enough in Madrid?
The last rain heavy enough to soak in fell over a week ago. What has fallen since wet the leaves and no more.
Madrid has had 3.4mm of rain in the last 30 days. A normal August here brings 8.6mm, so that is about 40% of what the ground usually gets — and the driest August in 30 years was 0mm.
Rain in Madrid through a normal year
Across a normal year Madrid gets about 427.7mm of rain, most of it in October (59.9mm) and least in July (5.9mm).
That makes Madrid one of the drier places this site covers in Spain in August — 12th of 14, against Gijón at the wet end (65.2mm) and Seville at the dry end (2.9mm).
What that means for what you grow
- Pots and hanging basketsWorst hit, and first to suffer. Very little soil, fully exposed, and nothing to fall back on — in this weather they can empty in a day.
- Salad and leafy vegShallow-rooted and quick to bolt once they run dry. First priority of anything in the ground.
- Beds and bordersA long soak that reaches the roots is worth more than a daily sprinkle, which only wets the surface and is gone by lunchtime.
- Established shrubs and treesFine as they are. They draw from far deeper than a dry spell reaches.
Your own garden, not the town average
This page is worked out for Madrid as a whole. Your garden has its own soil, its own shade and its own planting, and the front page will use your exact location instead.
Check my garden