Santa Cruz de Barahona in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Santa Cruz de Barahona sees average daytime highs around 28°C and overnight lows near 22°C, with 41 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 80% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels muggy.

Winter is Santa Cruz de Barahona's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. Santa Cruz de Barahona 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 Santa Cruz de Barahona's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
28°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
22°C
Rainfall
41 mm
8 wet days
Avg wind
8 km/h
Travel score
7.9
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

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

20°23°25°28°30°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Santa Cruz de Barahona

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.

Santa Cruz de Barahona 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°112.2118.2
Feb28° / 22°112.611.48.1
Mar28° / 23°194.711.97.7
Apr28° / 24°305.512.46.8
May29° / 24°7510.912.85.5
Jun30° / 25°6010.413.15.2
Jul30° / 25°487.2135.5
Aug30° / 25°858.912.65.2
Sep30° / 25°8511.612.14.8
Oct30° / 25°10012.211.65.0
Nov29° / 24°466.811.16.2
Dec28° / 23°192.810.97.5

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 80% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Santa Cruz de Barahona gets around 41 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 8 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 5.0 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Santa Cruz de Barahona

In seasonPeak

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

Santa Cruz de Barahona sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Santa Cruz de Barahona's rainy season runs May–November, 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 Santa Cruz de Barahona?

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.

7.9
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
8.6
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Santa Cruz de Barahona in Winter

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

In winter, Santa Cruz de Barahona sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 22°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

light clothessun protection

Sea temperature near Santa Cruz de Barahona 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 26 km away) is warmest in September at about 29°C and coldest in February near 27°C.

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

26°28°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan27Warm
Feb27Warm
Mar27Warm
Apr27Warm
May28Warm
Jun28Tropical
Jul29Tropical
Aug29Tropical
Sep29Tropical
Oct29Tropical
Nov29Tropical
Dec28Warm

UV index in Santa Cruz de Barahona 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 Santa Cruz de Barahona peaks around March 23 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 highHighMar 23UV 12Dec 15UV 7
UV index (midday)Level
Jan8Very high
Feb10Very high
Mar12Extreme
Apr12Extreme
May12Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug12Extreme
Sep11Extreme
Oct10Very high
Nov8Very high
Dec7High

Air quality in Santa Cruz de Barahona 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 Santa Cruz de Barahona is worst in June — around 28 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.6× the cleanest month (January, 8 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJun 2328 µg/m³Jan 18 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar10Good
Apr11Good
May18Moderate
Jun28Moderate
Jul28Moderate
Aug23Moderate
Sep17Moderate
Oct17Moderate
Nov10Good
Dec8Good
Location & terrain

Where is Santa Cruz de Barahona?

Santa Cruz de Barahona sits at 18.2°N, 71.1°W, 39 m above sea level, in Dominican Republic. The nearest listed city is Neiba, 46 km away.

NeibaAzuaSan Juan de la MaguanaSan José de OcoaBaníLas Matas de FarfánGrand GosierConstanza

Topography around Santa Cruz de Barahona

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Santa Cruz de Barahona has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 354 m around an average of 71 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,607 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,675 m.

The land around Santa Cruz de Barahona is covered by trees (37%), artificial surfaces (30%) and water (22%) within 3 km, trees (43%) and water (39%) within 16 km, and trees (40%) and water (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
354 m
16 km
1,607 m
80 km
2,675 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwatermangroves
Winter weather nearby: Neiba 46 km · Azua 47 km · San Juan de la Maguana 68 km · San José de Ocoa 73 km · Baní 82 km · Las Matas de Farfán 86 km · Grand Gosier 86 km · Constanza 86 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 Santa Cruz de Barahona (18.2086°, -71.1007°, elevation 39 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.