Quarteira in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Quarteira sees average daytime highs around 15°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 191 mm of rain over about 20 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 15°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 46% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Quarteira's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Quarteira's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
15°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
12°C
Rainfall
191 mm
20 wet days
Avg wind
20 km/h
Travel score
5.1
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Quarteira in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 15°C.

A typical winter day in Quarteira reaches about 15°C and drops to 12°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.

10°15°20°DecJanFeb

Quarteira 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
Jan15° / 12°557.29.74.9
Feb15° / 12°475.510.65.1
Mar16° / 13°536.511.75.7
Apr17° / 14°425.712.96.4
May19° / 16°244.5147.4
Jun22° / 18°50.914.58.9
Jul24° / 20°00.114.39.6
Aug25° / 20°20.313.49.5
Sep23° / 19°192.712.38.6
Oct20° / 17°676.6117.1
Nov18° / 15°707.3106.3
Dec16° / 13°907.79.55.3

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 46% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Quarteira gets around 191 mm of rain over 20 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — 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 20 km/h across winter.

0510152025DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 06 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 2.9 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Quarteira?

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.

5.1
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.2
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a reasonable time to visit Quarteira for sightseeing.

What to pack for Quarteira in Winter

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

In winter, Quarteira sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 12°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and a windbreaker. About 20 days see rain.

a warm layera windbreaker

Sea temperature near Quarteira in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 16°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 21°C and coldest in February near 15°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 18 to Oct 2 — about 2.5 months when the water holds above 20°C.

14°16°18°20°22°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan16Cool
Feb15Cool
Mar15Cool
Apr16Cool
May17Cool
Jun19Cool
Jul20Refreshing
Aug21Refreshing
Sep21Refreshing
Oct20Cool
Nov18Cool
Dec17Cool

UV index in Quarteira in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Quarteira peaks around July 14 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 19 at about 2 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateVery highHighModerateJul 14UV 10Dec 19UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar7High
Apr8Very high
May7Very high
Jun9Very high
Jul10Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep7High
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low
Location & terrain

Where is Quarteira?

Quarteira sits at 37.1°N, 8.1°W, 23 m above sea level, in Portugal. The nearest listed city is Loulé, 10 km away.

Topography around Quarteira

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Quarteira has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 60 m around an average of 14 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 371 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 894 m.

The land around Quarteira is covered by water (41%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, water (43%) and grassland (22%) within 16 km, and water (39%) and grassland (29%) within 80 km.

3 km
60 m
16 km
371 m
80 km
894 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Winter weather nearby: Loulé 10 km · Albufeira 13 km · Faro 16 km · Olhão 23 km · Quelfes 25 km · Laranjeiro 26 km · Portimão 40 km · Tavira 41 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
Catholic 68%not applicable 13%no religion 12%no response 2%

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 Quarteira (37.0695°, -8.1006°, elevation 23 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.