Sulţānah in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Sulţānah sees average daytime highs around 26°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 17 mm of rain over about 2 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 26°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 77% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
26°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
12°C
Rainfall
17 mm
2 wet days
Avg wind
10 km/h
Travel score
8.9
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Sulţānah in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 26°C.

A typical winter day in Sulţānah reaches about 26°C and drops to 12°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

10°20°30°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Sulţānah

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.

Sulţānah 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
Jan24° / 11°9110.79.1
Feb27° / 13°20.511.18.7
Mar30° / 16°40.911.86.5
Apr35° / 20°51.512.63.6
May39° / 24°20.713.21.0
Jun42° / 26°0013.50.0
Jul42° / 27°00.113.40.0
Aug42° / 28°20.612.90.0
Sep41° / 26°00.112.20.1
Oct36° / 22°10.411.42.5
Nov30° / 17°61.210.86.5
Dec26° / 13°70.910.58.9

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 77% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Sulţānah gets around 17 mm of rain over 2 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 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 10 km/h across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 36 min in early December to 11 h 24 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 4.8 kWh/m².

0246DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Sulţānah

In seasonPeak

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

Sulţānah sees seasonal dust haze (March–September), heaviest in May.

Dust
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Sulţānah?

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.

8.9
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
8.3
Beach & pool
1st-best month of the year

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

What to pack for Sulţānah in Winter

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

In winter, Sulţānah sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 12°C. Worth packing: light clothes and sun protection.

light clothessun protection

UV index in Sulţānah in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Sulţānah peaks around May 21 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 16 at about 4 (moderate).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateMay 21UV 12Dec 16UV 4
UV index (midday)Level
Jan6High
Feb9Very high
Mar11Extreme
Apr9Very high
May12Extreme
Jun12Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug10Extreme
Sep10Extreme
Oct9Very high
Nov6High
Dec4Moderate

Air quality in Sulţānah 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 Sulţānah is worst in April — around 51 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), about 1.8× the cleanest month (October, 29 µg/m³).

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

0204060JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecPoorModeratePoorApr 1051 µg/m³Oct 1629 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan40Poor
Feb44Poor
Mar50Poor
Apr51Poor
May42Poor
Jun35Moderate
Jul29Moderate
Aug32Moderate
Sep34Moderate
Oct29Moderate
Nov34Moderate
Dec44Poor
Location & terrain

Where is Sulţānah?

Sulţānah sits at 24.5°N, 39.6°E, 597 m above sea level, in Saudi Arabia. The nearest listed city is Medina, 4.0 km away.

YanbuMahd adh DhahabRābighUmlujThuwalKhulayş

Topography around Sulţānah

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sulţānah has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 142 m around an average of 606 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 535 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,011 m.

The land around Sulţānah is covered by artificial surfaces (69%) and bare terrain (21%) within 3 km, bare terrain (71%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 16 km, and bare terrain (97%) within 80 km.

3 km
142 m
16 km
535 m
80 km
2,011 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrain
Winter weather nearby: Medina 4.0 km · Badr Ḩunayn 113 km · Yanbu 161 km · Mahd adh Dhahab 172 km · Rābigh 197 km · Umluj 241 km · Thuwal 250 km · Khulayş 261 km

Saudi Arabia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 3
Reconsider Travel
Power plugs
Type G
230 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 47% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$34,537
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2019
Road deaths
35.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 404

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 Sulţānah (24.4926°, 39.5857°, elevation 597 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.