Dew / Orvalho

It is the water vapor that condenses into tiny droplets on the ground and plants due to the cooling caused by nocturnal radiation. It is observed in Funchal on certain clear and cold winter mornings, leaving the streets sometimes as wet as if a fine rain had just fallen on them. However, it is in the mountainous region and particularly in the valleys of the island's interior that dew is more abundant and noticeable. Despite what Mason wrote in his

Treatise on the climate and meteorology of Madeira

(See vol. I, p. 276 and following), we can affirm, without fear of contradiction, that the amount of dew that settles in Funchal is only remarkable on very few days of the year. The Madeirans call dew 'sereno,' reserving the latter name to designate fine rain. Dew is unknown in Funchal.

(See Climate, I-273).