When will the rain arrive in Malaga and on the Costa del Sol, and how much is forecast to fall?

Everyone will need to wait a few more days for the much-needed rain to arrive after it was initially forecast for Malaga province from this Monday (16 October).

According to the latest data the highly-anticipated rain won't now fall in any great quantity until Thursday 18 October.

The local director of Aemet Meteorological Centre in Malaga, Jesús Riesco, said that although "it is not going to pour down" the whole province will be wet with "moderate and persistent rainfall". "Thursday is when we see a more active front and widespread rainfall in the province," he said, adding, "although it may change".

The weather models predict between 50 and 100mm of rain throughout the day on Thursday. But no more rainfall is expected after that for the rest of the week.

There may be light rainfall in the evening on Tuesday 17 October in the Ronda area, while strong wind gusts can be expected in the high areas of the Serranía and Antequera. On Wednesday, showers could also be very light in some areas, especially in the Serranía. José Luis Escudero, head of Diario SUR's weather blog, also said that continuous rain will fall throughout this Thursday.

However, on Friday and Saturday there is almost nothing to be seen, although on Sunday the rain may return, but it is still too far away to make a reliable prediction.

The cold arrives

A drop in temperatures will follow the rainfall on Thursday. In Malaga city it will go from 26-27 degrees (this Monday) to 24 on Thursday; 23-22 on Friday and Saturday and 21 on Sunday, which will be the coldest day, even below normal for this time of year. Minimum temperatures will also drop from 20 degrees to 14-15 in Malaga city this weekend.

Inland the mercury will also plummet from 26 degrees in Antequera (this Monday) to 18-20 by the weekend, with minimums also dropping to 10 degrees on Sunday.