Matoury in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Matoury sees average daytime highs around 28°C and overnight lows near 24°C, with 751 mm of rain over about 76 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 28°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels oppressive.

Winter is Matoury's 2nd-best season to visit on our travel score. Matoury 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 Matoury's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
28°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
24°C
Rainfall
751 mm
76 wet days
Avg wind
12 km/h
Travel score
3.7
2nd-best season
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Matoury 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 Matoury reaches about 28°C and drops to 24°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest December.

20°25°30°35°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Matoury

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 20 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
20
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.

Matoury 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° / 24°25926.511.83.7
Feb28° / 24°21722.211.84.0
Mar29° / 24°17522.9123.9
Apr29° / 24°26424.812.13.5
May29° / 24°40829.212.23.1
Jun29° / 23°35428.412.33.1
Jul30° / 23°24026.612.33.4
Aug30° / 23°12619.912.23.9
Sep31° / 23°6213124.3
Oct31° / 24°7214.511.94.2
Nov30° / 24°15421.111.83.6
Dec29° / 24°27427.411.73.3

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Matoury gets around 751 mm of rain over 76 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%80%100%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels oppressive — 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 h 42 min in early December to 11 h 54 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 4.3 kWh/m².

024DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Matoury?

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.

3.7
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
4.3
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Matoury.

What to pack for Matoury in Winter

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

In winter, Matoury sees daytime highs around 28°C and nights near 24°C. Pack light clothes and rain gear. About 76 days see rain.

light clothesrain gear

Sea temperature near Matoury 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 22 km away) is warmest in July at about 28°C and coldest in January 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
Apr28Warm
May28Warm
Jun28Tropical
Jul28Tropical
Aug28Tropical
Sep28Tropical
Oct28Tropical
Nov28Warm
Dec27Warm

UV index in Matoury in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 12 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Matoury peaks around April 12 at about 14 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 11 at about 10 (extreme).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeApr 12UV 14Dec 11UV 10
UV index (midday)Level
Jan13Extreme
Feb13Extreme
Mar14Extreme
Apr14Extreme
May13Extreme
Jun11Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep12Extreme
Oct12Extreme
Nov11Extreme
Dec10Extreme

Air quality in Matoury 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 Matoury is worst in February — around 26 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.6× the cleanest month (August, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodModerateFeb 1925 µg/m³Aug 137 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan23Moderate
Feb26Moderate
Mar25Moderate
Apr24Moderate
May17Moderate
Jun10Good
Jul7Good
Aug7Good
Sep8Good
Oct10Good
Nov11Good
Dec18Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Matoury?

Matoury sits at 4.8°N, 52.3°W, 13 m above sea level, in French Guiana. The nearest listed city is Rémire-Montjoly, 10 km away.

KourouOiapoqueSaint-Laurent-du-Maroni

Topography around Matoury

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Matoury has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 171 m around an average of 17 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 244 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 487 m.

The land around Matoury is covered by trees (79%) within 3 km, trees (54%) and water (26%) within 16 km, and trees (56%) and water (38%) within 80 km.

3 km
171 m
16 km
244 m
80 km
487 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetlandmangroves
Winter weather nearby: Rémire-Montjoly 10 km · Cayenne 10 km · Kourou 50 km · Oiapoque 124 km · Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni 202 km · Blauwgrond 329 km · Rainville 330 km · Beekhuizen 333 km

French Guiana travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / E
220 V · 50 Hz

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 Matoury (4.8492°, -52.3235°, elevation 13 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.