My wife and i were planning a trip to Collioure and Barcelona in late July until I discovered that Barcelona is really humid in the summer. We are now thinking of pushing the trip to early September. According to what i am seeing, the humidity gets somewhat better by then but is still pretty high. We are from Los Angeles so this is not something we are used to all that much. On the other hand, we'd really like to experience a summerish beach Mediterranean vacation so we are reluctant to push the trip past early September. So just looking for feedback on how does it typically feel around this time of year. Thanks in advance.
Posted by
Colorado Mountains, USA
7937 posts
Well, on our trip a few years ago, it was so humid that it absolutely poured rain. We still enjoyed our time, but indoors plans are good to have as a backup for all the outdoor options.
Posted by
Bend, Oregon
273 posts
We were in Barcelona mid-Sep 2022 for a week. Temp really hot, humidity sopping wet. Out to sights in early morning. Lunch in apartment with A/C full blast. Afternoons in apartment. Out at dusk or dark until late for shops, restaurants, paseo, etc. Use buses, not metro. Granada, Seville & Cordoba after Barcelona, it was still hot and humid but sweating like pigs tolerable. Madrid & Toledo much better. We had a good time but any return will be winter-ish.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10625 posts
Unlike the others, and maybe I hit a dry spell, but when I was there for a few days in September 2022, I didn't notice any humidity. Barcelona has had a very, very serious drought for several years, worse than southern France. Unfortunately, any rainwater runs off the hard soil.
Posted by
CA
2141 posts
Went in September and it was not humid and was very.
Posted by
Barcelona + Sweden
4180 posts
The past 1-2 years have been super dry in Barcelona, the region is in a serious drought. You'll find it'll probably be quite similar to coastal SoCal at the same time of year (I used to live in Los Angeles). Remember in California we still get quite humid in summer with Monsoonal Moisture, Barcelona should not be too different.
Posted by
8246 posts
Been to Barcelona three times and never thought the humidity was a problem. Still, I am from Georgia on the coast where it is hot and humid about six months of the year.
Posted by
897 posts
scroll down to the chart 'Humidity Comfort Levels in September in Barcelona '
https://weatherspark.com/m/47213/9/Average-Weather-in-September-in-Barcelona-Spain
The chance that a given day will be muggy in Barcelona is very rapidly decreasing during September, falling from 47% to 16% over the course of the month.
For reference, on August 8, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 61% of the time, while on January 1, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.
Posted by
Barcelona (Catalonia)
3071 posts
Maybe we got a different 'scale' to measure humidity you and I... I live in Barcelona, and there are three things I can swear by:
- Temperature and humidity often vary depending on where you are in the city, up to 2 to 3ºC from say, El Raval neighbourhood, to Sarrià, in the north of the city.
- Humidity is not "seasonal" as it can dramatically change from one week to the next. Although mid-July to the end of August it can be high -most noticeable at night!-, it can fluctuate as much as 40-50% from one week to the next. Take the centrally located above-mentioned El Raval neighbourhood, which is one of the most humid areas in the city. According to stats, on Aug 16th, 2023 the average humidity was 77% while the following week, Aug 23rd was merely a pleasant 46% (Source: Catalonia's National Weather Service: www.meteo.cat)
- Mid-Sept to mid-Nov (especially Oct, with 90mm of rain on average), along with mid-April to mid-May (especially the beginning of May, with 60mm of rain on average), have traditionally been the wettest months of the year. Yet, this is not to say Sept will necessarily be rainy since weather patterns have been drastically altered these past years.
Enjoy!