Trade Winds and Clouds on Tenerife

There is a persistent cloud layer on Tenerife around the mountains at between 500m and 1500m.  These clouds are formed by the moisture carrying trade winds blowing in from the north Atlantic, which are forced to rise by the mountain where they then cool and condense in to clouds.

It is this cloud that brings the rain that makes the north of the island so green and lush with exotic vegetation.

Tourists to the popular southern resorts don’t need to worry too much about this though, as the clouds don’t often clover these sunny resorts, especially in the summer months from June to September.

Taking a trip up to the top of Mount Teide should not be a problem either, as the Las Cañadas caldera and the cone of Teide itself are normally several hundred feet above the cloud layer. So even when it’s cloudy at sea level it is gloriously sunny above the cloud layer.

Best Weather North or South

Looking Down on Sea of Clouds, Tenerife