Het weer in Fuerteventura (Corralejo) in augustus

The wind here has a reputation that frightens people off, and regulars spend most of an August thread defending it: there is nearly always one, it is warm rather than cold - a hairdryer, in their phrase - and without it the month would be too hot. The exception they admit is the beach on a bad day, when it drives sand hard enough to sting. They also note that late August into early October is normally the calmest stretch, because the sea is at its warmest. Our 32.4 kph average supports the reputation. On heat we differ: they say around 30C by day where our row reads 25.5C, so expect their figure on the sand. The record: 21.6C nights, 0.1mm of rain, 11.7 hours of sun and a 24.2C sea.

Regulars are specific that sea-driven cloud can hang around for part of the day this month, but it doesn't bring rain and actually offers some welcome protection from how strong the sun gets. Our row backs that mild, genuinely dry read, 22C over 18.1C nights, with rain essentially absent, 1.3mm across well under a day, and a real 30.1 kph wind. Regulars are consistent, including one visitor with twelve straight years of Mays here, that full beach days and a real suntan are the norm despite the odd cloudy stretch, mid-to-high-20s Celsius and plenty of sun the typical outcome. Humidity stays noticeably higher than the temperature alone would suggest, a legacy of the surrounding Atlantic. The sea sits at a mild 21.2C. The record: 11.9 hours of sun, humidity 72 percent and AQI 52.

Regulars are specific about a real seasonal pattern: the trade winds that define this island most of the year actually drop this month, making it both the hottest stretch and one of the calmer, more pleasant ones at once - genuinely bad wind is unusual here, though not impossible. Our row backs the warm, comparatively gentle read, 25.2C over 21.4C nights, with rain almost absent, 3.8mm across under a day, and a real but easing 28.6 kph average. Regulars describe the wind that does show up as usually a welcome relief from the sun rather than a problem, distinct from this island's reputation the rest of the year. The sea holds 24C. The record: humidity 76 percent, 11.1 hours of sun and AQI 45.

July is the windiest month on Fuerteventura and regulars are clear that this is a feature rather than a fault - the north-east trades keep the heat bearable, and our row's 34 kph average under a 24.5C day is a mild summer by Canarian standards for exactly that reason. Where you stand changes the strength: the north is windier than the south, and Costa Calma gets enough of it to host world surfing championships in July. If you want the wind off you, they point to the El Cotillo lagoons for calm water and Gran Tarajal, which is sheltered from most directions. Mornings can start under cloud that the sun burns away. Rain does not feature: 0.5mm and no precipitation days at all. The record: 20.7C nights, humidity 78 percent, 11.9 hours of sun and a 23.8C sea.

October is when the sea around Fuerteventura is at its warmest - the forum puts it at 20 to 21C, which lags the air by months - and when the island's famous wind often eases off for the first half of the month, which is the half sunbathers are told to aim for. Temperatures are rarely below 25C and the wind, when it blows, is described as constant rather than cold; it is the reason the island is a kitesurfing and windsurfing destination in the first place. The caution regulars add: the end of October or the start of November usually brings a storm of some kind, and half-term weeks have come out both brilliant and poor. The record: 24.6C days, 20.7C nights, 1.3 precipitation days, 10.3 hours of sun, a 24.3C sea and a 25 kph wind.