Climate and average weather in Santa Cruz del Norte

In Santa Cruz del Norte, the weather is oppressive, hot, wet, and partly cloudy and remarkably steady, with daytime highs holding near hot levels all year. The wettest stretch peaks around September.

Best: early January to mid May

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Santa Cruz del Norte typically varies from 21°C to 30°C, and is rarely below 18°C or above 31°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 Santa Cruz del Norte for warm-weather activities are from early January to mid May and early November to late December.

Hottest
Aug
30°
Coldest
Jan
21°
Wettest
Sep
124 mm
Driest
Mar
25 mm
Rain / yr
797 mm
135 wet days
Daylight
10.6–13.4 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
6 m
23.2°N
Clearest
Mar
35% cloud

Santa Cruz del Norte 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 May.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

Temperatures in Santa Cruz del Norte stay fairly even through the year, without a distinct hot or cool season. The warmest month is August, with an average high of 30°C and low of 27°C; the coolest is January, with an average low of 21°C and high of 25°C.

Days typically run about 3°C warmer than nights year-round.

15°20°25°30°35°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2521
Feb2521
Mar2622
Apr2723
May2825
Jun2926
Jul3027
Aug3027
Sep2926
Oct2825
Nov2624
Dec2522

How hot and cold Santa Cruz del Norte 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, Santa Cruz del Norte feels like about 36°C (around August 14). About 129 days a year carry some heat stress, peaking in August.

20°25°30°35°40°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan24252121
Feb25252121
Mar26262222
Apr27272323
May30282525
Jun33292626
Jul35302727
Aug36302727
Sep34292626
Oct31282525
Nov26262424
Dec25252222

Average hourly temperature in Santa Cruz del Norte

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 30°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near 21°C.

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

Santa Cruz del Norte 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° / 21°417.510.77.6
Feb25° / 21°345.311.28.0
Mar26° / 22°255.111.87.9
Apr27° / 23°335.512.57.6
May28° / 25°8211.313.16.4
Jun29° / 26°10715.713.44.8
Jul30° / 27°6113.413.34.8
Aug30° / 27°851612.84.4
Sep29° / 26°12419.612.14.1
Oct28° / 25°11117.211.55.2
Nov26° / 24°5710.610.96.8
Dec25° / 22°387.510.67.4

Chance of rain

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

Santa Cruz del Norte gets about 797 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 5.8 months, from around May 17 to Nov 8, peaking in September at about 66% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Apr 4.

September is the wettest month by volume, with 124 mm over about 20 wet days; March is the driest, with 25 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetSep 23 · 66%Apr 4 · 16%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan248
Feb195
Mar175
Apr196
May3711
Jun5116
Jul4413
Aug5116
Sep6520
Oct5617
Nov3411
Dec258

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Santa Cruz del Norte collects about 797 mm of rain across 135 wet days — roughly 66 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. September is the wettest month with 124 mm, while March is the driest at just 25 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 43% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec413425338210761851241115738
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan418
Feb345
Mar255
Apr336
May8211
Jun10716
Jul6113
Aug8516
Sep12420
Oct11117
Nov5711
Dec388

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Santa Cruz del Norte, 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 4 and lasts for 6.5 months, ending around May 21. The clearest month is March, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 81% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around May 22 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around November 3. The cloudiest month is September, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 53% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 26 · 84%Sep 1 · 44%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastclearercloudierclearer
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan6634
Feb7723
Mar8119
Apr8020
May6733
Jun4852
Jul5347
Aug5050
Sep4753
Oct5644
Nov6832
Dec6832

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 5, 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)
Jan10.77:155:59
Feb11.27:066:18
Mar11.86:426:32
Apr12.56:126:44
May13.15:516:57
Jun13.45:457:10
Jul13.35:547:12
Aug12.86:086:56
Sep12.16:186:26
Oct11.56:295:56
Nov10.96:475:39
Dec10.67:065:41

Sunny days

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

Santa Cruz del Norte averages about 14 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 8 and 21 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.9 months, from around Jan 25 to May 24. The sunniest month is March, with roughly 20 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is September, down near 9 sunny days — about 52% fewer than the March peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantMar 2821 daysSep 38 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan15Mixed
Feb17Bright
Mar20Bright
Apr19Bright
May17Bright
Jun10Mixed
Jul11Mixed
Aug11Mixed
Sep9Mixed
Oct12Mixed
Nov15Mixed
Dec15Bright

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 Santa Cruz del Norte, how humid it feels changes noticeably over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 7.4 months, from around April 6 to November 17. 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 18 to April 5, and January is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 26% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 24 · 28%May 27 · 0%muggymiserableoppressivehumidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)Miserable (%)
Jan9172041120
Feb9142042140
Mar5132441170
Apr161739370
May01421685
Jun00016039
Jul00004852
Aug00003565
Sep00014752
Oct014146219
Nov171634412
Dec5121837270

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 Santa Cruz del Norte is typically light breeze, near 19 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 7.0 months, from around Oct 15 to May 14. The windiest month is November, averaging about 22 km/h (breezy).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 15 to Oct 14, with September the calmest month at about 16 km/h.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezywindyNov 10 · 22 km/hSep 5 · 16 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan21breezy
Feb20breezy
Mar21breezy
Apr20breezy
May19light breeze
Jun16light breeze
Jul16light breeze
Aug16light breeze
Sep16light breeze
Oct19light breeze
Nov22breezy
Dec21breezy

Hazard calendar for Santa Cruz del Norte

In seasonPeak

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

Santa Cruz del Norte sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

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

Best time to visit Santa Cruz del Norte

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early May, Santa Cruz del Norte 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 Santa Cruz del Norte for general outdoor tourist activities is from early November to mid May, with a peak score in the third week of February.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationFeb 17 · 8.0

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
Jan7.6ideal
Feb7.9ideal
Mar7.9ideal
Apr7.6ideal
May6.3good
Jun4.8fair
Jul4.8fair
Aug4.4fair
Sep4.2fair
Oct5.2fair
Nov6.8good
Dec7.4good

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best times of year to visit Santa Cruz del Norte for hot-weather activities run from late June to mid August and again from late October to late May, with a peak score in the second week of April.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebest timebest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationApr 8 · 7.7

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 Santa Cruz del Norte, 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.

Santa Cruz del Norte packs about the same all year — highs hold near 30°C. Across the year the things worth having are light clothes, rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Santa Cruz del Norte sees daytime highs around 30°C and nights near 27°C. Pack light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 16 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Santa Cruz del Norte

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 25 km away) is warmest in August 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°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan26Warm
Feb26Warm
Mar26Warm
Apr26Warm
May27Warm
Jun28Tropical
Jul29Tropical
Aug30Tropical
Sep29Tropical
Oct29Tropical
Nov28Warm
Dec27Warm

UV index (midday) in Santa Cruz del Norte 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 Santa Cruz del Norte peaks around June 21 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecHighVery highExtremeVery highHighJun 21UV 12Dec 17UV 6
UV index (midday)Level
Jan6High
Feb8Very high
Mar10Extreme
Apr11Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep11Extreme
Oct9Very high
Nov7High
Dec6High

Average hourly UV index in Santa Cruz del Norte

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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 6.5 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)
Jan5.51.5
Feb6.54
Mar7.55
Apr86
May86
Jun8.56.5
Jul8.56.5
Aug8.56
Sep7.55.5
Oct74.5
Nov62
Dec50

Air quality in Santa Cruz del Norte 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 Santa Cruz del Norte is worst in July — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.0× the cleanest month (November, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1420 µg/m³Nov 227 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb8Good
Mar9Good
Apr11Good
May12Good
Jun19Moderate
Jul21Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep13Moderate
Oct10Good
Nov7Good
Dec7Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Santa Cruz del Norte 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. Santa Cruz del Norte banks about 5,727 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)
Jan397
Feb368
Mar429
Apr453
May504
Jun524
Jul561
Aug567
Sep532
Oct516
Nov449
Dec426

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.

Santa Cruz del Norte receives about 5.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 3.7 and 6.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.5 months, from around Mar 6 to Sep 18. The brightest month is July, averaging about 6.8 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 3.7 kWh/m² — roughly 45% less than the July peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 146.8 kWhDec 193.7 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan3.9Moderate
Feb4.8Bright
Mar5.9Bright
Apr6.7Intense
May6.7Intense
Jun6.4Intense
Jul6.8Intense
Aug6.5Intense
Sep5.6Bright
Oct4.7Bright
Nov4.0Bright
Dec3.7Moderate

Where is Santa Cruz del Norte?

Santa Cruz del Norte sits at 23.2°N, 81.9°W, 6 m above sea level, in Cuba. The nearest listed city is Jaruco, 15 km away.

Topography around Santa Cruz del Norte

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Santa Cruz del Norte.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Santa Cruz del Norte has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 108 m around an average of 26 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 272 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 364 m.

The land around Santa Cruz del Norte is covered by water (42%) and trees (30%) within 3 km, water (47%) and trees (29%) within 16 km, and water (49%) and trees (23%) within 80 km.

3 km
108 m
16 km
272 m
80 km
364 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmangroves
Nearby: Jaruco 15 km · Madruga 28 km · San José de las Lajas 32 km · Vedado del Cotorro 35 km · Alamar 36 km · Güines 37 km · Matanzas 37 km · Cojímar 39 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 Santa Cruz del Norte (23.1536°, -81.9226°, elevation 6 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).