Salvaleón de Higüey in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Salvaleón de Higüey sees average daytime highs around 28°C and overnight lows near 22°C, with 87 mm of rain over about 29 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 59% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels muggy.

Winter is Salvaleón de Higüey's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. Salvaleón de Higüey has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Salvaleón de Higüey's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
28°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
22°C
Rainfall
87 mm
29 wet days
Avg wind
12 km/h
Travel score
6.1
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Salvaleón de Higüey 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 Salvaleón de Higüey reaches about 28°C and drops to 22°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.

20°25°30°35°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Salvaleón de Higüey

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.

Salvaleón de Higüey 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
Jan28° / 22°279.1116.3
Feb28° / 22°237.811.46.3
Mar29° / 22°318.611.96.0
Apr29° / 23°4912.112.45.1
May30° / 24°981612.94.3
Jun31° / 25°661413.14.1
Jul31° / 25°7314.9134.1
Aug31° / 25°881712.63.8
Sep31° / 25°10718.212.13.6
Oct30° / 24°10720.311.63.7
Nov29° / 24°821611.14.6
Dec29° / 23°3811.610.95.8

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 59% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Salvaleón de Higüey gets around 87 mm of rain over 29 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%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 11 hours in early December to 11 h 36 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 4.7 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Salvaleón de Higüey

In seasonPeak

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

Salvaleón de Higüey 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

Is winter a good time to visit Salvaleón de Higüey?

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.

6.1
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
7.3
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Salvaleón de Higüey for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.

What to pack for Salvaleón de Higüey in Winter

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

In winter, Salvaleón de Higüey sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 29 days see rain.

light clothesrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Salvaleón de Higüey 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 30 km away) is warmest in September at about 29°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
Apr27Warm
May27Warm
Jun28Warm
Jul28Tropical
Aug29Tropical
Sep29Tropical
Oct29Tropical
Nov28Tropical
Dec27Warm

UV index in Salvaleón de Higüey in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 8 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Salvaleón de Higüey peaks around August 16 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 15 at about 7 (high).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highExtremeVery highAug 16UV 12Dec 15UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan8Very high
Feb10Very high
Mar12Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May11Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug13Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct10Very high
Nov8Very high
Dec7High

Air quality in Salvaleón de Higüey 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 Salvaleón de Higüey is worst in June — around 27 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.5× the cleanest month (December, 8 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJun 2327 µg/m³Dec 218 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb10Good
Mar11Good
Apr11Good
May18Moderate
Jun27Moderate
Jul27Moderate
Aug23Moderate
Sep18Moderate
Oct18Moderate
Nov11Good
Dec8Good
Location & terrain

Where is Salvaleón de Higüey?

Salvaleón de Higüey sits at 18.6°N, 68.7°W, 95 m above sea level, in Dominican Republic. The nearest listed city is Punta Cana, 32 km away.

Punta CanaLa RomanaSanta Cruz de El SeiboMichesHato Mayor del ReySan Pedro de MacorisQuisqueyaSanta Barbara De Samana

Topography around Salvaleón de Higüey

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Salvaleón de Higüey has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 93 m around an average of 99 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 562 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 683 m.

The land around Salvaleón de Higüey is covered by artificial surfaces (44%) and grassland (40%) within 3 km, grassland (72%) and trees (21%) within 16 km, and water (60%) and grassland (20%) within 80 km.

3 km
93 m
16 km
562 m
80 km
683 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Punta Cana 32 km · La Romana 35 km · Santa Cruz de El Seibo 39 km · Miches 54 km · Hato Mayor del Rey 60 km · San Pedro de Macoris 66 km · Quisqueya 74 km · Santa Barbara De Samana 93 km

Dominican Republic travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type A / B / C
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 39% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$11,059
2025
Happiness
6.1 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
45%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
10.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
64.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 503

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 Salvaleón de Higüey (18.615°, -68.708°, elevation 95 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.