Whitstable in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Whitstable sees average daytime highs around 8°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 168 mm of precipitation over about 34 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
8°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
4°C
Precipitation
168 mm
34 wet days
Avg wind
19 km/h
Travel score
1.1
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Whitstable 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 Whitstable reaches about 8°C and drops to 4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.

-5°10°15°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Whitstable

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 74 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
74
wind chill below the day's low

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

Whitstable 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 / 5711.90.88.21.0
Feb / 479.81.19.61.1
Mar10° / 43100.411.52.1
Apr12° / 4710.6013.53.3
May15° / 549.9015.34.7
Jun18° / 12°5510016.35.8
Jul21° / 14°5611015.96.3
Aug21° / 15°6310014.46.4
Sep18° / 12°519.8012.45.8
Oct15° / 10°6611.4010.44.1
Nov11° / 6611.80.18.62.3
Dec / 65120.97.71.2

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 15% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Whitstable gets around 168 mm of rain and snow over 34 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 19 km/h across winter.

0510152025DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 8 hours in early December to 10 h 30 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 1.1 kWh/m².

0123DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Whitstable?

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.

1.1
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 Whitstable.

What to pack for Whitstable in Winter

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

In winter, Whitstable sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 34 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Whitstable 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 offshore is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 7°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan8Bracing
Feb7Bracing
Mar7Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun15Bracing
Jul17Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep17Cool
Oct15Bracing
Nov12Bracing
Dec9Bracing

UV index in Whitstable in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Whitstable peaks around June 22 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 22UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May6High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low
Location & terrain

Where is Whitstable?

Whitstable sits at 51.4°N, 1.0°E, 5 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Herne Bay, 7.0 km away.

Topography around Whitstable

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Whitstable has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 81 m around an average of 10 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 157 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 347 m.

The land around Whitstable is covered by water (54%) within 3 km, water (43%) within 16 km, and water (46%) within 80 km.

3 km
81 m
16 km
157 m
80 km
347 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Winter weather nearby: Herne Bay 7.0 km · Canterbury 10 km · Faversham 11 km · Sittingbourne 20 km · Margate 25 km · Ashford 26 km · Saint Peters 27 km · Ramsgate 27 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
Christian 60%none 26%Muslim 4%other 2%

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 Whitstable (51.3607°, 1.0257°, elevation 5 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.