Cres in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Cres sees average daytime highs around 9°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 440 mm of precipitation over about 37 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Cres's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Cres's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 9°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 5°C
- Precipitation
- 440 mm
- 37 wet days
- Avg wind
- 15 km/h
- Travel score
- 1.7
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Cres in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C.
A typical winter day in Cres reaches about 9°C and drops to 5°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.
Cres weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) 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 | 8° / 5° | 133 | 12.4 | 1.1 | 9 | 1.4 |
| Feb | 9° / 5° | 130 | 11 | 1.6 | 10.1 | 1.7 |
| Mar | 12° / 7° | 112 | 10.6 | 0.7 | 11.6 | 3.0 |
| Apr | 15° / 11° | 98 | 10.6 | 0.1 | 13.2 | 4.5 |
| May | 19° / 15° | 100 | 9.8 | 0 | 14.6 | 6.3 |
| Jun | 23° / 19° | 64 | 6.9 | 0 | 15.3 | 7.6 |
| Jul | 26° / 21° | 53 | 5.4 | 0 | 15.1 | 7.9 |
| Aug | 26° / 21° | 76 | 6.3 | 0 | 13.9 | 7.8 |
| Sep | 22° / 17° | 171 | 10 | 0 | 12.3 | 6.8 |
| Oct | 18° / 14° | 186 | 12.7 | 0 | 10.7 | 5.5 |
| Nov | 13° / 10° | 227 | 14.3 | 0.2 | 9.4 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 10° / 6° | 177 | 13.1 | 1 | 8.6 | 1.9 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 33% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Cres gets around 440 mm of rain and snow over 37 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 15 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 8 h 48 min in early December to 10 h 48 min by late February. 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 1.7 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Cres?
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 Cres.
What to pack for Cres in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Cres sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 5°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 37 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Cres in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 12°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 24°C and coldest in February near 11°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 8 to Oct 3 — about 3.9 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 12 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 21 | 19 | 16 | 14 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Refreshing | Refreshing | Warm | Refreshing | Cool | Cool | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Bracing |
| Feb | 11 | Bracing |
| Mar | 11 | Bracing |
| Apr | 13 | Bracing |
| May | 17 | Cool |
| Jun | 21 | Refreshing |
| Jul | 24 | Refreshing |
| Aug | 24 | Warm |
| Sep | 21 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 19 | Cool |
| Nov | 16 | Cool |
| Dec | 14 | Bracing |
UV index in Cres in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Cres peaks around July 17 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 2 | Moderate |
| Mar | 4 | Moderate |
| Apr | 7 | High |
| May | 7 | High |
| Jun | 8 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 5 | Moderate |
| Oct | 3 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Where is Cres?
Cres sits at 45.0°N, 14.4°E, 0 m above sea level, in Croatia. The nearest listed city is Rijeka, 41 km away.
Topography around Cres
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Cres.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Cres has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 351 m around an average of 128 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 639 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,766 m.
The land around Cres is covered by trees (64%) and water (23%) within 3 km, water (66%) and trees (26%) within 16 km, and trees (47%) and water (43%) within 80 km.
Croatia travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 53% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $27,104
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.0 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 87%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 0.7
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 7.9
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- English
- Very high
- EF EPI 617
- 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 Cres (44.9609°, 14.4125°, elevation 0 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.