Live forecast for Los Lances Beach (Tarifa, Cadiz). Water temperature, wave height, wind, beach index 1-10 and best time to swim. Coordinates 36.0260, -5.6190.
Los Lances in Tarifa is a global kitesurfing paradise thanks to the levante and poniente winds blowing 300 days a year. Its 7 km of sand stretch to Punta Paloma. Part of the Estrecho Natural Park.
Orientation: southwest, approximate length 7000 m, sand type: fine white sand. Holds a current Blue Flag award. Services: kitesurf schools, beach bars, showers, toilets and sunbed rental. Access: Comes coaches from Cádiz, Seville and Algeciras. Paid parking in season.
The WhatAWeather beach index combines six meteorological variables into a 0-10 score: air temperature (best above 22 °C), sea surface temperature from the Open-Meteo Marine model (best above 20 °C), wind speed (best below 20 km/h), significant wave height (best below 0.8 m), cloud cover (best below 30 %) and accumulated rainfall (best below 0.5 mm). A value of 8-10 means perfect, 6-7 good, 4-5 acceptable and below 4 we advise against swimming.
For the official microbiological status of Spanish bathing waters consult the NAYADE system run by the Spanish Ministry of Health. WhatAWeather displays an informational jellyfish warning when sea temperature exceeds 23 °C and the wind blows from the east (levante), a situation statistically correlated with sightings in the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar. This is an orientation indicator and does not replace official Red Cross or city council bulletins.
The sea is at its warmest in August, averaging 22.5 °C, and at its coldest in March, at 16.3 °C. On land the month with the highest daily maxima is August, which averages 29.3 °C.
The sea holds above 20 °C in June, July, August, September and October. Outside those months a swim is possible but short, and in midwinter it is plainly cold without a wetsuit. The gap between air and sea temperature is the figure that misleads most: in August the air reaches 29.3 °C against 22.5 °C in the water.
In July and August the mean wave height is around 0.8 m, a manageable sea, with a small shorebreak that rarely stops anyone swimming. In winter the mean climbs to 1.5 m, with the annual peak in March at 1.8 m. The prevailing summer wind comes from the west-southwest, and the windiest month is February, when daily maximum gusts average 25 km/h.
July averages 12.9 hours of effective sunshine a day and 0.0 rain days across the month. July is also the driest month of the year, against March, the wettest, with 11.7 rain days; over the year as a whole it rains on about 75 days.
| Month | Max. air | Min. air | Sea | Wave | Max. gust | Rain days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 15.8 | 10.8 | 17.3 | 1.50 | 22 | 8.6 |
| February | 16.2 | 11.6 | 16.6 | 1.60 | 25 | 8.2 |
| March | 17.5 | 12.2 | 16.3 | 1.80 | 24 | 11.7 |
| April | 19.2 | 13.8 | 17.5 | 1.40 | 24 | 8.7 |
| May | 22.4 | 16.2 | 18.7 | 1.00 | 23 | 4.6 |
| June | 25.2 | 18.7 | 20.5 | 1.00 | 22 | 2.4 |
| July | 28.8 | 21.0 | 22.4 | 0.80 | 21 | 0.0 |
| August | 29.3 | 22.0 | 22.5 | 0.80 | 21 | 0.6 |
| September | 26.2 | 20.1 | 21.6 | 0.90 | 21 | 4.3 |
| October | 22.9 | 17.9 | 20.6 | 1.30 | 22 | 8.1 |
| November | 19.1 | 14.2 | 19.2 | 1.20 | 21 | 8.8 |
| December | 17.2 | 12.6 | 18.3 | 1.50 | 22 | 9.1 |
These are climatological means, not a forecast: they describe what has happened on average over the past decade, and any single day can depart a long way from them. The sea column holds the mean of the daily maximum sea-surface temperature, and the wave column the mean of the day's highest significant wave height. The beach index above, by contrast, is computed from today's forecast, combining air and sea temperature, waves, wind, cloud and rain — which is why it can contradict the table on any given day.
