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It is not every year that a month manages to be both one of the wettest and one of the hottest on record, but that is exactly what happened in July across the Region of Murcia.

 

According to Aemet’s regional weather report, July 2025 saw an average monthly temperature of 26.9ºC, making it the seventh warmest July in the last 65 years. At the same time, it was also the rainiest July in the past four decades and the fourth wettest since 1961.

 

You’d be forgiven for pushing the rain to the back of your mind since much of the month was marked by persistent, stifling heat. There were two major warm spells between July 1 and 8, and again from the 10 to 21. The most intense heat hit on the 17th and 18th, when temperatures soared well above 40ºC in many areas.

 

The highest temperature of the entire month was recorded at the Alcantarilla Observatory, where the mercury hit an incredible 43ºC.

 

Overnight temperatures didn’t bring much relief either and July will go down in memory for most of us as pretty much sleepless. In Murcia city, every single night in July was a tropical one, meaning the temperature never dropped below 20ºC. Five of those nights were classified as torrid, with minimum temperatures above 25ºC.

 

Similar patterns were recorded in San Javier and Alcantarilla, where several torrid nights were also logged.

San Javier even broke a local record. With an average maximum temperature of 31.5ºC, this was the hottest July on record there since measurements began in 1946.

 

 

Although the month began with isolated storms, the most significant rain arrived later. On July 24 and 25, storms swept across large parts of the Region of Murcia, bringing heavy downpours, hail and more lightning strikes than ever before recorded in a July.

 

Calasparra was hit hardest, with more than 76 litres per square metre falling in just one day. That same day saw intense electrical activity, with around 3,000 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes recorded across the Region, while several streets in Caravaca de la Cruz were briefly blanketed in hail.

 

Aemet confirmed this was the rainiest July in the Region of Murcia in 40 years. The total rainfall across the Region averaged 21.1 litres per square metre, more than eleven times the usual July average.

 

In some places, particularly the Northwest, totals exceeded 50 litres per square metre. Meanwhile, the south coast and parts of the Cartagena countryside barely saw any rain at all, with Mazarrón recording just 1.2 litres.

 

 

The unusual combination of extreme heat and heavy rainfall was driven by shifting pressure systems across Europe and the Atlantic. The first half of July was dominated by high pressure and hot air from the southwest. Later in the month, that pattern broke down, giving way to cooler air and storm systems sweeping in from the west and Mediterranean.

 

By the end of the month, temperatures had dipped slightly below normal as a maritime polar air mass settled over the Region. Aemet also noted two brief cold spells at the very end of July, though they did little to offset the overall heat.

 

After a month like this one, what the rest of August has in store is anyone’s guess.

 

 

Image: Ayuntamiento de Caravaca de la Cruz