El Calafate in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), El Calafate sees average daytime highs around 3°C and overnight lows near -2°C, with 153 mm of precipitation over about 32 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 3°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is El Calafate's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see El Calafate's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 3°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- -2°C
- Precipitation
- 153 mm
- 32 wet days
- Avg wind
- 6 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in El Calafate in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 3°C.
A typical winter day in El Calafate reaches about 3°C and drops to -2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is August, the coolest July.
How winter really feels in El Calafate
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 92 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
El Calafate weather by month
How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16° / 7° | 54 | 11.3 | 0 | 15.7 | 4.7 |
| Feb | 15° / 7° | 63 | 10.1 | 0.3 | 14.3 | 4.6 |
| Mar | 13° / 6° | 67 | 12.2 | 0.6 | 12.5 | 3.5 |
| Apr | 10° / 3° | 72 | 11.9 | 2.8 | 10.5 | 2.0 |
| May | 6° / 0° | 66 | 12.2 | 5.5 | 8.8 | 0.4 |
| Jun | 2° / -2° | 50 | 10.1 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 2° / -3° | 50 | 10.6 | 8.5 | 8.3 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 4° / -2° | 53 | 10.9 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 7° / -1° | 45 | 8.8 | 5.1 | 11.6 | 0.7 |
| Oct | 10° / 1° | 53 | 9.4 | 3.6 | 13.5 | 2.1 |
| Nov | 12° / 4° | 47 | 10.1 | 1.6 | 15.2 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 14° / 6° | 57 | 11.7 | 0.7 | 16.1 | 4.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
El Calafate gets around 153 mm of rain and snow over 32 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 6 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 8 h 06 min in early June to 10 h 36 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.3 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit El Calafate?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in El Calafate.
What to pack for El Calafate in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, El Calafate sees daytime highs around 3°C and nights near -2°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 32 days see rain.
UV index in El Calafate in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in El Calafate peaks around January 12 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 21 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 7 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 10 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| Level | Extreme | Very high | High | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | High | High | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | Extreme |
| Feb | 9 | Very high |
| Mar | 5 | High |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 1 | Low |
| Jun | 1 | Low |
| Jul | 1 | Low |
| Aug | 2 | Low |
| Sep | 3 | Moderate |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 7 | High |
| Dec | 10 | Very high |
Where is El Calafate?
El Calafate sits at 50.3°S, 72.3°W, 205 m above sea level, in Argentina. The nearest listed city is El Chalten, 121 km away.
Topography around El Calafate
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of El Calafate.
Within 3 km, the terrain around El Calafate has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 256 m around an average of 239 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,322 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,782 m.
The land around El Calafate is covered by grassland (54%) within 3 km, grassland (53%) and water (36%) within 16 km, and grassland (51%) and bare terrain (26%) within 80 km.
Argentina travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / I
- 220 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 46% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $14,898
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.4 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Homicide rate
- 4.5
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 14.1
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- High
- EF EPI 575
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for El Calafate (-50.3407°, -72.2768°, elevation 205 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.