Harlingen in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Harlingen sees average daytime highs around 73°F and overnight lows near 55°F, with 3.5 in of rain over about 16 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 73°F. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
73°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
55°F
Rainfall
3.5 in
16 wet days
Avg wind
10 mph
Travel score
7.4
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Harlingen in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 73°F.

A typical winter day in Harlingen reaches about 73°F and drops to 55°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.

40°60°80°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Harlingen

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 90°F and 0 that feel at or below 32°F.

Days feeling ≥ 90°F
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ 32°F
0
wind chill below the day's low

winter sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Harlingen 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 (°F)Rainfall (inches)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan71° / 53°1.25.110.57.3
Feb75° / 57°1.04.911.17.6
Mar80° / 62°1.65.511.87.2
Apr85° / 68°1.75.512.65.7
May90° / 73°1.96.513.34.3
Jun94° / 77°2.38.913.63.1
Jul95° / 78°2.48.513.52.6
Aug95° / 78°2.19.412.92.5
Sep91° / 75°4.114.412.23.4
Oct86° / 68°2.77.911.45.5
Nov78° / 61°1.56.510.77.4
Dec73° / 55°1.35.510.47.4

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitation

Harlingen gets around 3.5 in of rain over 16 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%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 10 mph across winter.

051015DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 30 min in early December to 11 h 24 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 3.3 kWh/m².

012345DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Harlingen

In seasonPeak

None of Harlingen's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.

Harlingen sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

Atlantic hurricane
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Harlingen?

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.

7.4
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
5.6
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is one of the better times to visit Harlingen for general sightseeing.

What to pack for Harlingen in Winter

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

In winter, Harlingen sees daytime highs around 73°F and nights near 55°F. Worth packing: light clothes. About 16 days see rain.

light clothes

Sea temperature near Harlingen in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 67°F 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 35 mi away) is warmest in September at about 84°F and coldest in February near 65°F.

It's comfortable for a long swim from Mar 22 to Dec 29 — about 9.3 months when the water holds above 68°F.

60°70°80°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan66Cool
Feb65Cool
Mar67Cool
Apr72Refreshing
May77Warm
Jun82Warm
Jul82Tropical
Aug83Tropical
Sep84Tropical
Oct81Warm
Nov75Refreshing
Dec70Refreshing

UV index in Harlingen in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Harlingen peaks around June 21 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 5 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecHighVery highExtremeVery highExtremeVery highHighJun 21UV 12Dec 22UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan5Moderate
Feb7High
Mar8Very high
Apr11Extreme
May9Very high
Jun12Extreme
Jul11Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep10Very high
Oct8Very high
Nov6High
Dec5Moderate

Air quality in Harlingen 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 Harlingen is worst in July — around 25 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.7× the cleanest month (October, 7 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1525 µg/m³Oct 247 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb9Good
Mar11Good
Apr13Moderate
May19Moderate
Jun20Moderate
Jul25Moderate
Aug18Moderate
Sep13Moderate
Oct7Good
Nov7Good
Dec9Good
Location & terrain

Where is Harlingen?

Harlingen sits at 26.2°N, 97.7°W, 39 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is San Benito, 5.6 mi away.

Topography around Harlingen

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 2, 10 and 50 miles of Harlingen.

Within 2 miles, the terrain around Harlingen has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 66 ft around an average of 43 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 82 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 446 ft.

The land around Harlingen is covered by artificial surfaces (56%) and trees (25%) within 2 miles, cropland (52%) and grassland (22%) within 10 miles, and cropland (34%), grassland (22%) and water (20%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
66 ft
10 miles
82 ft
50 miles
446 ft
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Winter weather nearby: San Benito 5.6 mi · Mercedes 14 mi · Weslaco 19 mi · Donna 22 mi · Brownsville 24 mi · Heroica Matamoros 25 mi · Alamo 27 mi · Ciudad Río Bravo 28 mi

United States travel facts

Power plugs
Type A / B
120 V · 60 Hz
Prices
≈ 100% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$90,027
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
98%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
5.8
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
12.7
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
Protestant 47%unaffiliated 23%Roman Catholic 21%Jewish 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 Harlingen (26.1906°, -97.6961°, elevation 39 ft), 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.