Climate and average weather in San Cristobal

In San Cristobal, the summers are muggy, hot, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are warm and mostly clear.

Best: early January to mid April

Over the course of the year, the temperature in San Cristobal typically varies from 18°C to 32°C, and is rarely below 14°C or above 33°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best times of year to visit San Cristobal for warm-weather activities are from early January to mid April and early November to late December.

Hottest
Aug
32°
Coldest
Jan
18°
Wettest
Jun
166 mm
Driest
Dec
22 mm
Rain / yr
944 mm
140 wet days
Daylight
10.6–13.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
63 m
22.7°N
Clearest
Feb
35% cloud

San Cristobal weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around early January to mid April.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in San Cristobal, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

Temperatures in San Cristobal stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is August, with an average high of 32°C and low of 25°C; the coolest is January, with an average low of 18°C and high of 25°C.

Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights year-round.

10°15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2518
Feb2619
Mar2819
Apr2921
May3023
Jun3125
Jul3125
Aug3225
Sep3124
Oct2923
Nov2721
Dec2619

How hot and cold San Cristobal really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the hottest afternoons, once humidity is folded in, San Cristobal feels like about 37°C (around August 18). About 169 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in August.

15°20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdangerous heat
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan25251818
Feb26261819
Mar28281919
Apr31292121
May33302323
Jun35312425
Jul36312525
Aug37322525
Sep36312424
Oct32292323
Nov28272121
Dec26261919

Average hourly temperature in San Cristobal

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on August afternoons, near 32°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 18°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

San Cristobal weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan25° / 18°284.910.87.9
Feb26° / 19°263.911.28.0
Mar28° / 19°244.211.87.5
Apr29° / 21°376.112.56.2
May30° / 23°10812.513.14.8
Jun31° / 25°1662013.43.5
Jul31° / 25°10119.613.33.4
Aug32° / 25°13320.912.83.2
Sep31° / 24°16222.212.13.4
Oct29° / 23°10715.511.54.8
Nov27° / 21°306.110.97.3
Dec26° / 19°223.910.67.9

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

San Cristobal gets about 944 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.3 months, from around May 16 to Oct 24, peaking in September at about 76% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Dec 27.

June is the wettest month by volume, with 166 mm over about 20 wet days; December is the driest, with 22 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetSep 3 · 76%Dec 27 · 11%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan155
Feb144
Mar144
Apr206
May4213
Jun6520
Jul6320
Aug6721
Sep7322
Oct5116
Nov206
Dec144

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, San Cristobal collects about 944 mm of rain across 140 wet days — roughly 79 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. June is the wettest month with 166 mm, while December is the driest at just 22 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 49% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150175200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec282624371081661011331621073022
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan285
Feb264
Mar244
Apr376
May10813
Jun16620
Jul10120
Aug13321
Sep16222
Oct10716
Nov306
Dec224

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In San Cristobal, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around November 2 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around May 19. The clearest month is February, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 80% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 20 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around November 1. The cloudiest month is June, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 56% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecFeb 19 · 82%Sep 2 · 40%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan7228
Feb8020
Mar8020
Apr7723
May6535
Jun4456
Jul4852
Aug4852
Sep4456
Oct5545
Nov7030
Dec7228

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 9, brings about 13 h 24 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 10 h 36 min — a swing of roughly 2 h 48 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan10.87:196:04
Feb11.27:106:23
Mar11.86:476:37
Apr12.56:176:48
May13.15:567:01
Jun13.45:517:14
Jul13.36:007:16
Aug12.86:137:00
Sep12.16:236:30
Oct11.56:336:01
Nov10.96:515:44
Dec10.67:105:47

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

San Cristobal averages about 13 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 20 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.6 months, from around Oct 30 to May 19. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 19 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is September, down near 7 sunny days — about 62% fewer than the March peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedbrightbrilliantMar 2720 daysSep 56 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan16Bright
Feb17Bright
Mar19Bright
Apr17Bright
May14Mixed
Jun8Gloomy
Jul9Mixed
Aug8Mixed
Sep7Gloomy
Oct11Mixed
Nov15Bright
Dec16Bright

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In San Cristobal, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 7.1 months, from around April 20 to November 21. The muggiest month is May, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 99% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around November 22 to April 19, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 29% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 19 · 31%May 22 · 0%miserablemuggyoppressivehumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan1217234270
Feb1016254280
Mar6162839120
Apr282241280
May01731574
Jun00027523
Jul00007525
Aug00006337
Sep00016238
Oct014156416
Nov161838351
Dec6132142170

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in San Cristobal is typically calm, near 10 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.1 months, from around Oct 12 to May 15. The windiest month is November, averaging about 12 km/h (calm).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 16 to Oct 11, with July the calmest month at about 9 km/h.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeNov 7 · 12 km/hJul 24 · 8 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan11calm
Feb11calm
Mar12calm
Apr11calm
May10calm
Jun9calm
Jul9calm
Aug8calm
Sep9calm
Oct11calm
Nov12calm
Dec11calm

Hazard calendar for San Cristobal

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

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

San Cristobal'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

Best time to visit San Cristobal

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in San Cristobal throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late March, San Cristobal is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit San Cristobal for general outdoor tourist activities is from early November to early April, with a peak score in the last week of December.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationDec 30 · 8.1

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan7.9ideal
Feb8.0ideal
Mar7.5ideal
Apr6.2good
May4.8fair
Jun3.5fair
Jul3.4poor
Aug3.2poor
Sep3.4poor
Oct4.8fair
Nov7.2good
Dec7.9ideal

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit San Cristobal for hot-weather activities is from late October to mid May, with a peak score in the first week of April.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationApr 3 · 8.2

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for San Cristobal, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around August (highs near 32°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 25°C), pack light clothes.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, San Cristobal sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 25°C. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 21 days see rain.

Sea temperature near San Cristobal

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 21 km away) is warmest in August at about 30°C and coldest in January near 24°C.

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

22°24°26°28°30°32°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan24Warm
Feb25Warm
Mar25Warm
Apr27Warm
May28Tropical
Jun30Tropical
Jul30Tropical
Aug30Tropical
Sep30Tropical
Oct29Tropical
Nov26Warm
Dec25Warm

UV index (midday) in San Cristobal by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in San Cristobal peaks around July 12 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 17 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 highHighJul 12UV 12Dec 17UV 6
UV index (midday)Level
Jan7High
Feb8Very high
Mar11Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep11Extreme
Oct9Very high
Nov7High
Dec6High

Average hourly UV index in San Cristobal

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan5.52
Feb6.54
Mar7.55.5
Apr86
May8.56
Jun8.56.5
Jul8.56
Aug86
Sep7.55.5
Oct74.5
Nov62
Dec50

Air quality in San Cristobal by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in San Cristobal is worst in June — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.1× the cleanest month (December, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJun 2321 µg/m³Dec 117 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan7Good
Feb8Good
Mar9Good
Apr11Good
May13Moderate
Jun21Moderate
Jul21Moderate
Aug19Moderate
Sep14Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov7Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

San Cristobal is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. San Cristobal banks about 5,584 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

02,0004,0006,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan363
Feb345
Mar416
Apr457
May515
Jun528
Jul561
Aug564
Sep524
Oct501
Nov420
Dec391

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

San Cristobal receives about 5.3 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.7 and 6.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Mar 2 to Sep 15. The brightest month is May, averaging about 6.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 3.8 kWh/m² — roughly 40% less than the May peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseMay 26.6 kWhDec 183.7 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan4.0Moderate
Feb4.8Bright
Mar5.8Bright
Apr6.5Intense
May6.4Intense
Jun6.0Intense
Jul6.5Intense
Aug6.1Intense
Sep5.3Bright
Oct4.6Bright
Nov4.1Bright
Dec3.8Moderate

Where is San Cristobal?

San Cristobal sits at 22.7°N, 83.1°W, 63 m above sea level, in Cuba. The nearest listed city is Bahía Honda, 23 km away.

Topography around San Cristobal

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around San Cristobal has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 62 m around an average of 55 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 655 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 654 m.

The land around San Cristobal is covered by trees (30%) and grassland (30%) within 3 km, trees (55%) and grassland (30%) within 16 km, and water (56%) and trees (21%) within 80 km.

3 km
62 m
16 km
655 m
80 km
654 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetlandmangroves
Nearby: Bahía Honda 23 km · Los Palacios 24 km · Artemisa 32 km · Mariel 43 km · Guanajay 44 km · Alquízar 49 km · Consolación del Sur 52 km · Güira de Melena 57 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 San Cristobal (22.7166°, -83.0565°, elevation 63 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. Tropical-cyclone seasons are the published climatological basin seasons (NOAA National Hurricane Center / regional warning centres). Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).