Tarifa in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Tarifa sees average daytime highs around 16°C and overnight lows near 12°C, with 263 mm of rain over about 27 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 16°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 41% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Tarifa's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Tarifa's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 16°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 12°C
- Rainfall
- 263 mm
- 27 wet days
- Avg wind
- 19 km/h
- Travel score
- 5.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Tarifa in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 16°C.
A typical winter day in Tarifa reaches about 16°C and drops to 12°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.
Tarifa 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 | 15° / 12° | 85 | 8.9 | 9.8 | 4.9 |
| Feb | 16° / 12° | 75 | 8.1 | 10.6 | 5.0 |
| Mar | 17° / 13° | 72 | 8.6 | 11.7 | 5.7 |
| Apr | 18° / 14° | 51 | 7.1 | 12.9 | 6.6 |
| May | 21° / 16° | 26 | 4.7 | 13.9 | 7.6 |
| Jun | 23° / 18° | 5 | 0.9 | 14.4 | 9.1 |
| Jul | 26° / 20° | 1 | 0.1 | 14.2 | 9.2 |
| Aug | 26° / 21° | 3 | 0.6 | 13.4 | 8.9 |
| Sep | 24° / 20° | 32 | 3.7 | 12.2 | 8.4 |
| Oct | 21° / 17° | 75 | 7.9 | 11.1 | 7.0 |
| Nov | 18° / 15° | 91 | 8.7 | 10.1 | 6.2 |
| Dec | 16° / 13° | 103 | 10.4 | 9.6 | 5.2 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 41% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Tarifa gets around 263 mm of rain over 27 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 19 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 42 min in early December to 11 h 06 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 2.9 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Tarifa
In winter, Tarifa overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.
Tarifa's rainy season runs October–April, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Tarifa?
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 Tarifa for sightseeing.
What to pack for Tarifa in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Tarifa sees daytime highs around 16°C and nights near 12°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 27 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Tarifa in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 17°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 16 km away) is warmest in August at about 22°C and coldest in March near 16°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 24 to Oct 18 — about 3.8 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 |
| Comfort | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Refreshing | Cool | Cool |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | Cool |
| Feb | 16 | Cool |
| Mar | 16 | Cool |
| Apr | 17 | Cool |
| May | 18 | Cool |
| Jun | 20 | Cool |
| Jul | 21 | Refreshing |
| Aug | 22 | Refreshing |
| Sep | 21 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 20 | Refreshing |
| Nov | 19 | Cool |
| Dec | 18 | Cool |
UV index in Tarifa 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 Tarifa peaks around July 17 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 2 (moderate).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 2 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 2 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | Extreme | Very high | High | High | Moderate | Moderate |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Moderate |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 7 | High |
| Apr | 9 | Very high |
| May | 8 | Very high |
| Jun | 8 | Very high |
| Jul | 10 | Extreme |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 7 | High |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 3 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Moderate |
Air quality in Tarifa 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 Tarifa is worst in March — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.7× the cleanest month (June, 10 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) | 12 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 11 |
| Level | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Good |
| Feb | 14 | Moderate |
| Mar | 17 | Moderate |
| Apr | 14 | Moderate |
| May | 12 | Good |
| Jun | 10 | Good |
| Jul | 13 | Moderate |
| Aug | 13 | Moderate |
| Sep | 13 | Moderate |
| Oct | 13 | Moderate |
| Nov | 12 | Good |
| Dec | 11 | Good |
Where is Tarifa?
Tarifa sits at 36.0°N, 5.6°W, 22 m above sea level, in Spain. The nearest listed city is Algeciras, 19 km away.
Topography around Tarifa
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Tarifa.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Tarifa has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 159 m around an average of 16 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 826 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,904 m.
The land around Tarifa is covered by water (59%) and grassland (29%) within 3 km, water (64%) and trees (20%) within 16 km, and water (47%) and trees (20%) 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 Tarifa (36.0139°, -5.607°, elevation 22 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.