Porthcawl in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Porthcawl sees average daytime highs around 8°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 329 mm of precipitation over about 44 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 8°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Porthcawl's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Porthcawl's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 8°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 4°C
- Precipitation
- 329 mm
- 44 wet days
- Avg wind
- 22 km/h
- Travel score
- 1.1
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Porthcawl in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C.
A typical winter day in Porthcawl reaches about 8°C and drops to 4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.
How winter really feels in Porthcawl
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 59 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Porthcawl 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 | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8° / 4° | 115 | 15.6 | 0.6 | 8.1 | 1.0 |
| Feb | 8° / 4° | 84 | 12.5 | 0.6 | 9.6 | 1.1 |
| Mar | 9° / 5° | 75 | 12.9 | 0.4 | 11.5 | 1.7 |
| Apr | 12° / 6° | 68 | 11.7 | 0.1 | 13.5 | 2.8 |
| May | 14° / 9° | 72 | 12.5 | 0 | 15.3 | 3.9 |
| Jun | 17° / 12° | 75 | 11.8 | 0 | 16.3 | 5.0 |
| Jul | 18° / 14° | 81 | 13.4 | 0 | 15.9 | 5.5 |
| Aug | 19° / 14° | 93 | 13.7 | 0 | 14.4 | 5.4 |
| Sep | 17° / 12° | 86 | 12.3 | 0 | 12.4 | 4.9 |
| Oct | 14° / 10° | 122 | 15.2 | 0 | 10.4 | 3.4 |
| Nov | 11° / 7° | 123 | 15.8 | 0 | 8.6 | 2.1 |
| Dec | 8° / 5° | 130 | 15.5 | 0.4 | 7.7 | 1.3 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Porthcawl gets around 329 mm of rain and snow over 44 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 22 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 8 hours in early December to 10 h 24 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 1.0 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Porthcawl?
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 Porthcawl.
What to pack for Porthcawl in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Porthcawl sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer and rain gear. Worth having: a heavy coat and a windbreaker. About 44 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Porthcawl in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 8°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 13 km away) is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 8°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) | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 10 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | Bracing |
| Feb | 8 | Bracing |
| Mar | 8 | Bracing |
| Apr | 9 | Bracing |
| May | 12 | Bracing |
| Jun | 14 | Bracing |
| Jul | 17 | Cool |
| Aug | 18 | Cool |
| Sep | 17 | Cool |
| Oct | 15 | Bracing |
| Nov | 12 | Bracing |
| Dec | 10 | Bracing |
UV index in Porthcawl 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 Porthcawl peaks around August 13 at about 6 (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 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 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 | 4 | Moderate |
| May | 6 | High |
| Jun | 6 | High |
| Jul | 6 | High |
| Aug | 7 | High |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 2 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Where is Porthcawl?
Porthcawl sits at 51.5°N, 3.7°W, 12 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Bridgend, 9.0 km away.
Topography around Porthcawl
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Porthcawl.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Porthcawl has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 95 m around an average of 11 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 381 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 864 m.
The land around Porthcawl is covered by water (57%) and grassland (22%) within 3 km, water (57%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and grassland (47%) and water (30%) 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 Porthcawl (51.479°, -3.7036°, elevation 12 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.