At roughly 5 degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer, the Canary Islands fall outside the tropics and instead are considered subtropical. Because of the surrounding ocean currents, the temperature remains fairly constant year-round.
From November through February, the temperature can fall as low as 59 degrees Fahrenheit and rarely climbs above 74 degrees. The islanders measure their temperatures in Celsius, so expect to see numbers ranging from 21 to 24 degrees Celsius most days. Humidity does tend to be relatively high, averaging nearly 75 percent. If the temperature climbs higher than 75 degrees, it will feel significantly warmer. If the temperature is less than 70 degrees and there is a measurable breeze, wind chill can become a factor.
The winter is the wettest time of the year for all the Canary Islands, but there's a wide range from island to island. The driest is La Palma, receiving barely 2 inches of rain through the course of 12 months. Other islands may receive as much as 16 inches through the year, but most of this falls in short, intense bursts of rainfall, not extended showers.
All the islands are the result of volcanic activity. As a consequence, the Canary Islands are steeply sloped, and there is a wide variety of terrain ,from beaches to meadows to snowy ski slopes. There are several dormant, but not extinct, volcanoes in the archipelago. La Palma possesses the most recently active volcano, which last erupted in 1971.
The southern shores of the islands tend to be dry and windy. The northern and western sides receive the most rainfall and have the most plant and animal life.
The climate of the Canary Islands is often described as an eternal spring. However, in the winter, the weather is variable, from sunny to rainy and from calm to windy in the course of a day. If you plan on being active, layer your clothes to adjust to changes in temperature, and bring a jacket to ward off wind and rain. Even during the rainiest month, there will still be plenty of time to sun on the beaches or by the pool.
