Villafranca del Bierzo in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Villafranca del Bierzo sees average daytime highs around 8°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 277 mm of precipitation over about 35 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 8°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
8°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
2°C
Precipitation
277 mm
35 wet days
Avg wind
7 km/h
Travel score
1.5
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Villafranca del Bierzo in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C.

A typical winter day in Villafranca del Bierzo reaches about 8°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

-5°10°15°20°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Villafranca del Bierzo

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 77 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
77
wind chill below the day's low

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Villafranca del Bierzo 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 daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / 9812.34.29.21.1
Feb / 7510.1410.31.9
Mar12° / 8111.52.711.63.2
Apr14° / 8313.61.313.13.7
May17° / 7512.70.114.45.2
Jun22° / 11°448015.17.0
Jul25° / 13°285.4014.88.0
Aug25° / 13°295.8013.78.0
Sep21° / 11°467.6012.37.1
Oct16° / 9411.10.110.85.0
Nov11° / 100131.29.62.4
Dec / 10412.12.48.91.4

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Villafranca del Bierzo gets around 277 mm of rain and snow over 35 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%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 7 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 06 min in early December to 10 h 54 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 1.9 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Villafranca del Bierzo?

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.

1.5
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Villafranca del Bierzo.

What to pack for Villafranca del Bierzo in Winter

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

In winter, Villafranca del Bierzo sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 35 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Villafranca del Bierzo 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 Villafranca del Bierzo peaks around July 14 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 14UV 9Jan 1UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar5Moderate
Apr7High
May7High
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Moderate
Dec2Low

Air quality in Villafranca del Bierzo 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 Villafranca del Bierzo is worst in July — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (November, 7 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodModerateGoodModerateGoodJul 1718 µg/m³Nov 228 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan10Good
Feb12Good
Mar14Moderate
Apr14Moderate
May9Good
Jun9Good
Jul19Moderate
Aug11Good
Sep11Good
Oct18Moderate
Nov7Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is Villafranca del Bierzo?

Villafranca del Bierzo sits at 42.6°N, 6.8°W, 0 m above sea level, in Spain. The nearest listed city is Ponferrada, 19 km away.

Topography around Villafranca del Bierzo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Villafranca del Bierzo has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 471 m around an average of 621 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,195 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,061 m.

The land around Villafranca del Bierzo is covered by trees (50%) and grassland (27%) within 3 km, trees (58%) and grassland (32%) within 16 km, and trees (53%) and grassland (41%) within 80 km.

3 km
471 m
16 km
1,195 m
80 km
2,061 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Winter weather nearby: Ponferrada 19 km · Monforte de Lemos 58 km · Lugo 76 km · Bragança 89 km · Ourense 91 km · San Andrés del Rabanedo 98 km · León 102 km · Villaquilambre 103 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
Roman Catholic 58%atheist 16%agnostic 11%non-believer 11%

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 Villafranca del Bierzo (42.606°, -6.8107°, elevation 0 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.