Abstract Surface latent heat flux (SLHF) has been associated with the study of natural hazards, such as earthquakes and hurricanes and has been proposed as a useful quantity in the prediction and monitoring of their evolution. In the present study the Mediterranean Sea, parts of Europe, Africa and Turkey are mapped with regard to the multifractal characteristics of SLHF time series during a period of eight years (1997–2004). The estimated Hurst exponents are markedly larger over land than over sea. In the case of land, SLHF has the characteristics of a mean-averting process, while its records are over sea noticeably uncorrelated. In contrast to the rather monofractal and weak multifractal character observed in most regions, with the application of a detrended fluctuation analysis, intense multifractality is seen mainly in North Africa. Crossover segments are present in the scaling of negative moments, implying that the small SLHF fluctuations are affected by seasonal components. Identification of anomalous SLHF deviations from their long-term multifractal behavior may serve as a precursor of extreme atmospheric phenomena.