Santander in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Santander sees average daytime highs around 12°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 331 mm of precipitation over about 41 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 12°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Santander's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Santander's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 12°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 8°C
- Precipitation
- 331 mm
- 41 wet days
- Avg wind
- 14 km/h
- Travel score
- 3.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Santander in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 12°C.
A typical winter day in Santander reaches about 12°C and drops to 8°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.
Santander 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 | 12° / 8° | 115 | 14.6 | 9.1 | 2.8 |
| Feb | 12° / 8° | 103 | 12.9 | 10.2 | 2.9 |
| Mar | 14° / 9° | 104 | 12.9 | 11.6 | 3.6 |
| Apr | 15° / 10° | 103 | 14.8 | 13.2 | 3.9 |
| May | 17° / 13° | 86 | 14.1 | 14.5 | 5.0 |
| Jun | 20° / 16° | 68 | 10.9 | 15.2 | 6.1 |
| Jul | 22° / 18° | 54 | 10.3 | 14.9 | 6.7 |
| Aug | 23° / 18° | 60 | 10.3 | 13.8 | 6.9 |
| Sep | 21° / 17° | 78 | 11.3 | 12.3 | 6.3 |
| Oct | 19° / 14° | 109 | 13.3 | 10.8 | 5.5 |
| Nov | 15° / 11° | 150 | 15.8 | 9.5 | 3.9 |
| Dec | 13° / 9° | 114 | 13.9 | 8.8 | 3.2 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Santander gets around 331 mm of rain and snow over 41 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 14 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 hours in early December to 10 h 48 min 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 1.8 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Santander?
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 weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Santander.
What to pack for Santander in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Santander sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 8°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer. About 41 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Santander in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 13°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 19 km away) is warmest in August at about 22°C and coldest in February near 13°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from Jul 13 to Sep 21 — about 2.3 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 16 | 14 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Cool | Cool | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13 | Bracing |
| Feb | 13 | Bracing |
| Mar | 13 | Bracing |
| Apr | 13 | Bracing |
| May | 15 | Cool |
| Jun | 18 | Cool |
| Jul | 20 | Refreshing |
| Aug | 22 | Refreshing |
| Sep | 20 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 18 | Cool |
| Nov | 16 | Cool |
| Dec | 14 | Bracing |
UV index in Santander 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 Santander peaks around July 17 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (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) | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 2 | Low |
| Mar | 5 | Moderate |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 6 | High |
| Jun | 8 | Very high |
| Jul | 8 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 5 | High |
| Oct | 4 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Where is Santander?
Santander sits at 43.5°N, 3.8°W, 1 m above sea level, in Spain. The nearest listed city is El Astillero, 7.0 km away.
Topography around Santander
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Santander.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Santander has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 82 m around an average of 18 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 562 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,293 m.
The land around Santander is covered by water (38%), artificial surfaces (32%) and grassland (23%) within 3 km, water (49%) and grassland (24%) within 16 km, and water (38%), trees (32%) and grassland (25%) within 80 km.
Spain travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 65% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $38,627
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.5 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 99%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 0.7
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 3.9
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- English
- Moderate
- EF EPI 540
- 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 Santander (43.4659°, -3.8049°, elevation 1 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.