Newquay in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Newquay sees average daytime highs around 9°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 250 mm of rain over about 43 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 9°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Newquay's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Newquay's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 9°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 5°C
- Rainfall
- 250 mm
- 43 wet days
- Avg wind
- 23 km/h
- Travel score
- 1.7
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Newquay in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C.
A typical winter day in Newquay reaches about 9°C and drops to 5°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.
Newquay 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 | 9° / 5° | 86 | 15.1 | 8.3 | 1.6 |
| Feb | 9° / 5° | 69 | 12.6 | 9.7 | 1.6 |
| Mar | 10° / 6° | 64 | 12.9 | 11.5 | 2.2 |
| Apr | 12° / 7° | 63 | 12.5 | 13.5 | 3.0 |
| May | 15° / 9° | 63 | 12.3 | 15.2 | 4.0 |
| Jun | 17° / 12° | 63 | 11.7 | 16.1 | 5.1 |
| Jul | 19° / 14° | 64 | 11.7 | 15.8 | 5.7 |
| Aug | 19° / 14° | 70 | 12.4 | 14.3 | 5.6 |
| Sep | 17° / 12° | 60 | 10.8 | 12.4 | 5.3 |
| Oct | 15° / 10° | 89 | 14.3 | 10.5 | 3.8 |
| Nov | 12° / 8° | 93 | 16.1 | 8.8 | 2.5 |
| Dec | 10° / 6° | 96 | 15.5 | 7.9 | 1.8 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Newquay gets around 250 mm of rain over 43 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 23 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 8 h 06 min in early December to 10 h 30 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 1.1 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Newquay?
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 Newquay.
What to pack for Newquay in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Newquay sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 5°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a windbreaker. About 43 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Newquay in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 10°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 17°C and coldest in March near 9°C.
The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 11 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | Bracing |
| Feb | 10 | Bracing |
| Mar | 9 | Bracing |
| Apr | 10 | Bracing |
| May | 12 | Bracing |
| Jun | 14 | Bracing |
| Jul | 16 | Cool |
| Aug | 17 | Cool |
| Sep | 16 | Cool |
| Oct | 15 | Bracing |
| Nov | 13 | Bracing |
| Dec | 11 | Bracing |
UV index in Newquay in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Newquay peaks around August 14 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | High | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 3 | Moderate |
| Apr | 5 | Moderate |
| May | 6 | High |
| Jun | 6 | High |
| Jul | 6 | High |
| Aug | 7 | High |
| Sep | 5 | Moderate |
| Oct | 3 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Where is Newquay?
Newquay sits at 50.4°N, 5.1°W, 31 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Truro, 17 km away.
Topography around Newquay
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Newquay.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Newquay has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 81 m around an average of 25 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 264 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 584 m.
The land around Newquay is covered by water (35%) and grassland (30%) within 3 km, water (42%) and grassland (30%) within 16 km, and water (65%) and grassland (23%) within 80 km.
United Kingdom travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type D / G / M
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 89% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $57,602
- 2025
- Happiness
- 6.7 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 100%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 1.1
- per 100k, 2021
- Road deaths
- 3.2
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- 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 Newquay (50.4156°, -5.0732°, elevation 31 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.