West Palm Beach in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), West Palm Beach sees average daytime highs around 73°F and overnight lows near 65°F, with 5.6 in of rain over about 21 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 muggy.

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

Avg daytime high
73°F
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
65°F
Rainfall
5.6 in
21 wet days
Avg wind
10 mph
Travel score
7.3
best season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in West Palm Beach 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 West Palm Beach reaches about 73°F and drops to 65°F overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

50°60°70°80°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in West Palm Beach

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.

West Palm Beach 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
Jan72° / 64°2.07.110.57.2
Feb73° / 65°1.96.511.17.4
Mar74° / 67°2.67.811.87.4
Apr77° / 71°2.68.412.67.2
May80° / 75°4.012.413.36.3
Jun83° / 78°6.521.113.64.2
Jul85° / 79°5.322.513.53.7
Aug85° / 80°6.524.212.93.5
Sep84° / 79°7.023.312.23.8
Oct81° / 76°4.515.111.45.7
Nov77° / 71°2.29.310.77.1
Dec74° / 67°1.77.410.47.3

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

West Palm Beach gets around 5.6 in of rain over 21 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels muggy — 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 24 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 3.5 kWh/m².

024DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for West Palm Beach

In seasonPeak

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

West Palm Beach sits in the Atlantic hurricane belt; the season peaks August–October.

West Palm Beach's rainy season runs May–October, when most of the year's rain falls.

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

Is winter a good time to visit West Palm Beach?

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.

7.3
Sightseeing
1st-best month of the year
5.4
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

winter is one of the better times to visit West Palm Beach for general sightseeing.

What to pack for West Palm Beach in Winter

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

In winter, West Palm Beach sees daytime highs around 73°F and nights near 65°F. Worth packing: light clothes. About 21 days see rain.

light clothes

Sea temperature near West Palm Beach in Winter

The nearest coast averages about 78°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 12 mi away) is warmest in August at about 85°F and coldest in February near 77°F.

The water stays above 68°F all year — warm enough for a swim any month.

75°80°85°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°F)Comfort
Jan77Warm
Feb77Warm
Mar77Warm
Apr79Warm
May81Warm
Jun83Tropical
Jul85Tropical
Aug85Tropical
Sep85Tropical
Oct83Tropical
Nov81Warm
Dec79Warm

UV index in West Palm Beach 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 West Palm Beach peaks around July 12 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 18 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 highHighModerateJul 12UV 11Dec 18UV 5
UV index (midday)Level
Jan5High
Feb7Very high
Mar9Very high
Apr9Very high
May9Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul12Extreme
Aug11Extreme
Sep9Very high
Oct8Very high
Nov6High
Dec5Moderate

Air quality in West Palm Beach 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 West Palm Beach is worst in July — around 20 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (December, 8 µg/m³).

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

0102030JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodJul 1819 µg/m³Dec 138 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan8Good
Feb10Good
Mar11Good
Apr11Good
May11Good
Jun15Moderate
Jul20Moderate
Aug17Moderate
Sep12Good
Oct9Good
Nov8Good
Dec8Good
Location & terrain

Where is West Palm Beach?

West Palm Beach sits at 26.7°N, 80.1°W, 13 ft above sea level, in United States. The nearest listed city is Riviera Beach, 4.3 mi away.

Topography around West Palm Beach

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

Within 2 miles, the terrain around West Palm Beach has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 69 ft around an average of 13 ft above sea level; within 10 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 157 ft; within 50 miles, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 200 ft.

The land around West Palm Beach is covered by artificial surfaces (47%) and water (35%) within 2 miles, water (49%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 10 miles, and water (42%) within 50 miles.

2 miles
69 ft
10 miles
157 ft
50 miles
200 ft
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
Winter weather nearby: Riviera Beach 4.3 mi · Palm Springs 6.2 mi · Lake Worth Beach 6.8 mi · Lake Worth Corridor 7.5 mi · Greenacres City 7.5 mi · Palm Beach Gardens 9.3 mi · Royal Palm Beach 11 mi · Wellington 12 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 West Palm Beach (26.7153°, -80.0534°, elevation 13 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.