Castelo Branco in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Castelo Branco sees average daytime highs around 13°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 186 mm of rain over about 23 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 13°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Castelo Branco's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Castelo Branco's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 13°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 5°C
- Rainfall
- 186 mm
- 23 wet days
- Avg wind
- 10 km/h
- Travel score
- 4.1
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Castelo Branco in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 13°C.
A typical winter day in Castelo Branco reaches about 13°C and drops to 5°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Castelo Branco
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.
winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.
Castelo Branco 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.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13° / 5° | 62 | 8.2 | 9.5 | 3.7 |
| Feb | 15° / 5° | 49 | 6.4 | 10.4 | 4.8 |
| Mar | 18° / 8° | 58 | 7.4 | 11.7 | 6.2 |
| Apr | 20° / 9° | 53 | 8.1 | 13 | 6.6 |
| May | 24° / 12° | 51 | 7 | 14.2 | 7.5 |
| Jun | 29° / 15° | 10 | 2.5 | 14.8 | 7.0 |
| Jul | 32° / 18° | 4 | 1.3 | 14.5 | 5.1 |
| Aug | 32° / 18° | 6 | 1.4 | 13.6 | 5.2 |
| Sep | 28° / 16° | 34 | 4.6 | 12.3 | 7.1 |
| Oct | 22° / 12° | 83 | 8.9 | 10.9 | 6.9 |
| Nov | 16° / 8° | 77 | 8.3 | 9.8 | 5.4 |
| Dec | 13° / 6° | 75 | 8.3 | 9.2 | 3.9 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 38% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Castelo Branco gets around 186 mm of rain over 23 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 10 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 24 min in early December to 11 hours by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.4 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Castelo Branco?
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.
winter is a reasonable time to visit Castelo Branco for sightseeing.
What to pack for Castelo Branco in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Castelo Branco sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 5°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 23 days see rain.
UV index in Castelo Branco in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Castelo Branco peaks around July 17 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 at about 2 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | High | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Low |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 7 | High |
| May | 7 | High |
| Jun | 9 | Very high |
| Jul | 9 | Very high |
| Aug | 9 | Very high |
| Sep | 6 | High |
| Oct | 5 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Low |
Air quality in Castelo Branco in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Castelo Branco is worst in August — around 21 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.3× the cleanest month (November, 6 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 8 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 7 |
| Level | Good | Good | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Good | Moderate | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | Good |
| Feb | 10 | Good |
| Mar | 12 | Moderate |
| Apr | 10 | Good |
| May | 8 | Good |
| Jun | 9 | Good |
| Jul | 12 | Good |
| Aug | 21 | Moderate |
| Sep | 10 | Good |
| Oct | 14 | Moderate |
| Nov | 6 | Good |
| Dec | 7 | Good |
Where is Castelo Branco?
Castelo Branco sits at 39.8°N, 7.5°W, 371 m above sea level, in Portugal. The nearest listed city is Covilhã, 51 km away.
Topography around Castelo Branco
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Castelo Branco.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Castelo Branco has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 184 m around an average of 362 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 363 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,974 m.
The land around Castelo Branco is covered by grassland (48%), trees (27%) and artificial surfaces (21%) within 3 km, grassland (49%) and trees (39%) within 16 km, and grassland (50%) and trees (43%) within 80 km.
Portugal travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / E / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 60% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $32,082
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.0 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 95%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 0.7
- per 100k, 2022
- Road deaths
- 8.2
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- English
- Very high
- EF EPI 612
- Religion
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 Castelo Branco (39.8236°, -7.491°, elevation 371 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.