Weather in the Azores in April
Averages, what the month actually feels like, and what is on while you are here.
April averages
| Measurement | Ponta Delgada, south coast | Ribeira Grande, north coast | Mount Pico summitModel grid cell at 1,758 m |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average high | 17 °C | 17 °C | 9 °C |
| Average low | 14 °C | 14 °C | 3 °C |
| Daylight | 13.2 h | 13.2 h | 13.0 h |
| Sea temperature | 16 °C | – | – |
Temperature and daylight, averaged over the ten years from 2016 to 2025 and recomputed from the Open-Meteo archive rather than typed in by hand. The model works in cells roughly ten kilometres across, so each column describes an area rather than one thermometer. Checked against IPMA's Ponta Delgada normal, the temperatures land within about a degree and a half. Sea temperature averages the years 2022 to 2025. The marine record is shorter than the air record, so it rests on fewer years.
Rain in April
Ponta Delgada averages 44 mm of rain in April, on 5 days with a millimetre or more.
The high interior and the north-facing slopes are wetter than the coast in every month of the year, often several times over. IPMA publishes no station normal for the uplands or for the summit of Mount Pico, so this page puts no millimetre figure on them rather than one it cannot check.
Rainfall: the IPMA climate normal for the Ponta Delgada observatory (station 522, 58 m), averaged over the 30 years from 1981 to 2010. The ten-year reanalysis behind the table above is not used for rain. Its grid cell is about ten kilometres across and these islands are only a few cells wide, so it averages the coast with the slopes that climb behind it, where most of the rain falls. Measured against the station normal it runs well high in the summer months.
What April feels like
April is warm without being hot and the island is at its greenest. Sea breezes keep the coast comfortable and the evenings no longer need a heavy layer.
What to pack
Light clothing with one warm layer, walking shoes, and sun cream. The UV is stronger than the temperature suggests.
What to do in April
Whale and dolphin watching gets going as the migrating baleen whales pass, and this is the best month of the year for the long trilhos, before the summer haze settles in. The hydrangea hedges are still bare; they come out in July.
Worth knowing before you book
Easter is the busiest week of the spring for hotels and hire cars, so book early. Showers still pass through, usually briefly.
Quick answers
- How warm is it in the Azores in April?
- In Ponta Delgada an average April day reaches 17 °C and falls to 14 °C overnight. The summit of Mount Pico averages 9 °C in the same month, so the mountain needs its own layer.
- Does it rain in the Azores in April?
- Ponta Delgada records about 44 mm across April, on 5 days with a millimetre or more of rain. The north coast and the mountains take several times as much in the same weeks, which is why the two halves of the island can look like different holidays.
- Can you swim in the sea in April?
- The sea averages 16 °C in April. The Azores sit in open ocean with no shallow shelf to warm the water, so it stays close to that figure all month.
- How long are the days in April?
- About 13.2 hours between sunrise and sunset, which sets how much of a long trilho you can fit in before dark.