Palmira in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Palmira sees average daytime highs around 28°C and overnight lows near 19°C, with 61 mm of rain over about 8 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 60% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels muggy.

Winter is Palmira's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Palmira's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
28°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
19°C
Rainfall
61 mm
8 wet days
Avg wind
12 km/h
Travel score
7.7
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Palmira in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C.

A typical winter day in Palmira reaches about 28°C and drops to 19°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

10°15°20°25°30°35°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Palmira

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Palmira 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan27° / 18°222.810.87.9
Feb28° / 19°222.511.27.6
Mar29° / 19°223.611.86.6
Apr31° / 21°315.512.55.4
May31° / 23°11113.613.14.2
Jun32° / 24°13318.413.33.3
Jul33° / 24°8616.913.23.1
Aug33° / 24°9918.312.82.9
Sep32° / 24°13220.612.13.1
Oct30° / 23°9713.911.54.4
Nov29° / 21°273.810.96.6
Dec28° / 20°172.510.77.6

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 60% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Palmira gets around 61 mm of rain over 8 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels muggy — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 12 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 42 min in early December to 11 h 30 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 4.4 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Palmira

In seasonPeak

None of Palmira's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Palmira sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Palmira's rainy season runs May–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

Atlantic hurricane
Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Palmira?

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.

7.7
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
8.3
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

winter is one of the better times to visit Palmira for general sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Palmira in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Palmira sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 19°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

light clothessun protection

Sea temperature near Palmira in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 27°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 41 km away) is warmest in September at about 30°C and coldest in February near 26°C.

The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

24°26°28°30°32°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan27Warm
Feb26Warm
Mar26Warm
Apr27Warm
May28Warm
Jun29Tropical
Jul30Tropical
Aug30Tropical
Sep30Tropical
Oct29Tropical
Nov28Tropical
Dec27Warm

UV index in Palmira in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 7 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Palmira peaks around June 13 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 16 at about 6 (high).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highHighJun 13UV 12Dec 16UV 6
UV index (midday)Level
Jan7High
Feb9Very high
Mar11Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep11Extreme
Oct10Very high
Nov7High
Dec6High

Air quality in Palmira in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Palmira is worst in July — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.0× the cleanest month (November, 8 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1222 µg/m³Nov 238 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb9Good
Mar13Moderate
Apr14Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun22Moderate
Jul23Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep15Moderate
Oct11Good
Nov8Good
Dec8Good
Location & terrain

Where is Palmira?

Palmira sits at 22.2°N, 80.4°W, 65 m above sea level, in Cuba. The nearest listed city is Cienfuegos, 12 km away.

Topography around Palmira

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Palmira.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Palmira has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 41 m around an average of 61 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 159 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,098 m.

The land around Palmira is covered by trees (38%), grassland (35%) and cropland (23%) within 3 km, trees (53%) and grassland (26%) within 16 km, and trees (42%), grassland (24%) and water (24%) within 80 km.

3 km
41 m
16 km
159 m
80 km
1,098 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetlandmangroves
Winter weather nearby: Cienfuegos 12 km · Cruces 17 km · Abreus 19 km · Rodas 20 km · Lajas 22 km · Cumanayagua 22 km · Ranchuelo 29 km · Santo Domingo 41 km

Cuba travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / B / C / L
110 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 39% of US
price level, 2011
GDP per capita
$9,605
2020
Happiness
5.4 / 10
World Happiness, 2011
Homicide rate
4.5
per 100k, 2019
Road deaths
8.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 515
Religion
Christian 59%none 23%folk religion 18%

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 Palmira (22.2422°, -80.3916°, elevation 65 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.