Climate - Elba (Tuscany)

The climate of Elba Island is Mediterranean, with mild, relatively rainy winters and warm to hot, sunny summers.
The island of Elba is located in central Italy, between Tuscany and Corsica. The main town, Portoferraio, is located on the north coast.
In the interior of the island, there are hills, whose highest point is Mount Capanne, 1,019 meters (3,343 feet) high.
The Tuscan Archipelago (which also includes the islands of Pianosa, Capraia, Gorgona, Montecristo, Giglio and Giannutri) is protected in a national park.
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 7.5 °C (45 °F), that of the warmest month (August) is of 23.1 °C (74 °F). Here are the average temperatures at the meteorological station, which is located on Mount Calamita, at 400 meters (1,300 feet) above sea level, where the temperatures are 2/3 degrees Celsius lower than on the coasts.

Precipitation amounts to 680 millimeters (26.8 inches) per year: so, it is at an intermediate level. It ranges from 15 mm (0.6 in) in the driest month (July) to 100 mm (3.9 in) in the wettest (October). Autumn is the rainiest season, when severe thunderstorms can occur. Here is the average precipitation.

Winter, from December to February, is mild, and is characterized by sunny periods alternating with rainy periods. During periods of bad weather, the libeccio, the south-west wind, can blow strongly.
It rarely gets very cold, although there can sometimes be cold and windy days, with highs around 6/7 °C (43/45 °F).
Occasionally, it may even snow. Snow falls a little more often in villages above 200 meters (650 feet), such as Sant'Ilario and San Pietro in Campo, and even more so on Monte Capanne, while it is more difficult to see the snow whiten the beaches. However, on the coast, after the snow of January 1985, fairly heavy snowfalls occurred in February 1986 and December 1996.
On the coast, the temperature almost never drops below freezing, and typically drops to -1/-2 °C (28/30 °F) in the coldest winters. On the inland hills, however, the temperature can drop more during cold waves. On Mount Calamita, it dropped to -10 °C (14 °F) in January 1963, to -7.5 °C (18.5 °F) in March 1971, to -5.5 °C (22 °F) in December 1996, and to -5 °C (23 °F) in February 2012 and February 2018.

Summer, from June to August, is warm to hot and sunny, with very rare rains.
Generally, the temperatures are not too high and the breeze blows, however, there can be hot and muggy periods.
The torrid heat of African origin, on the other hand, rarely arrives, and the temperature almost never reaches 35 °C (95 °F). However, at Mount Calamita, the temperature reached 36 °C (97 °F) in August 1981 and 37 °C (98.5 °F) in August 2017.



On average, there are around 2,150 sunshine hours per year. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

The sea temperature ranges between 14 °C (57 °F) and 25 °C (77 °F). The sea is warm enough for swimming from July to September. Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

The best time for a beach holiday on the island of Elba is the summer, from June to August, with a preference for July and August, because the sea in June is still a bit cool.