Santa Cruz de Mara in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Santa Cruz de Mara sees average daytime highs around 32°C and overnight lows near 25°C, with 61 mm of rain over about 15 wet days across the season. It is the 3rd-warmest season and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 32°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 52% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels oppressive.
Winter is Santa Cruz de Mara's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. Santa Cruz de Mara has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Santa Cruz de Mara's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 32°C
- 3rd-warmest season
- Avg overnight low
- 25°C
- Rainfall
- 61 mm
- 15 wet days
- Avg wind
- 15 km/h
- Travel score
- 4.4
- best season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Santa Cruz de Mara in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 32°C.
A typical winter day in Santa Cruz de Mara reaches about 32°C and drops to 25°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Santa Cruz de Mara
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 90 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is heat — humidity pushes the afternoon "feels like" well above the raw temperature.
Santa Cruz de Mara 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 | 32° / 25° | 9 | 2.5 | 11.4 | 4.7 |
| Feb | 33° / 25° | 6 | 1.6 | 11.6 | 4.4 |
| Mar | 33° / 25° | 21 | 4.2 | 11.9 | 3.8 |
| Apr | 33° / 26° | 72 | 11.9 | 12.2 | 3.0 |
| May | 33° / 26° | 167 | 20.8 | 12.5 | 2.5 |
| Jun | 33° / 26° | 115 | 18.2 | 12.6 | 2.6 |
| Jul | 34° / 26° | 92 | 16.8 | 12.6 | 2.6 |
| Aug | 33° / 26° | 143 | 21.9 | 12.4 | 2.3 |
| Sep | 33° / 26° | 174 | 25.4 | 12.1 | 2.1 |
| Oct | 32° / 26° | 208 | 28.2 | 11.8 | 2.3 |
| Nov | 32° / 25° | 154 | 22.5 | 11.5 | 2.9 |
| Dec | 32° / 25° | 47 | 10.4 | 11.4 | 4.2 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 52% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Santa Cruz de Mara gets around 61 mm of rain over 15 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels oppressive — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 15 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 11 h 24 min in early December to 11 h 48 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 5.5 kWh/m².
Hazard calendar for Santa Cruz de Mara
None of Santa Cruz de Mara's seasonal hazards peak in winter. The full-year calendar below shows when the rainy season, cyclone risk and dust haze do.
Santa Cruz de Mara's rainy season runs August–November, when most of the year's rain falls.
Is winter a good time to visit Santa Cruz de Mara?
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 reasonable time to visit Santa Cruz de Mara for sightseeing. The water and warmth also suit a beach or pool day.
What to pack for Santa Cruz de Mara in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Santa Cruz de Mara sees daytime highs around 32°C and nights near 25°C. Pack light clothes. Worth having: rain gear and sun protection. About 15 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Santa Cruz de Mara in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 27°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 September at about 30°C and coldest in February near 26°C.
The water stays above 20°C all year — warm enough for a swim any month.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 27 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 28 |
| Comfort | Warm | Warm | Warm | Warm | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Tropical | Warm |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | Warm |
| Feb | 26 | Warm |
| Mar | 27 | Warm |
| Apr | 27 | Warm |
| May | 28 | Tropical |
| Jun | 29 | Tropical |
| Jul | 28 | Tropical |
| Aug | 29 | Tropical |
| Sep | 30 | Tropical |
| Oct | 30 | Tropical |
| Nov | 29 | Tropical |
| Dec | 28 | Warm |
UV index in Santa Cruz de Mara in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Santa Cruz de Mara peaks around March 17 at about 13 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 13 at about 9 (very high).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — every month of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 9 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | Extreme |
| Feb | 13 | Extreme |
| Mar | 13 | Extreme |
| Apr | 13 | Extreme |
| May | 11 | Extreme |
| Jun | 12 | Extreme |
| Jul | 11 | Extreme |
| Aug | 12 | Extreme |
| Sep | 12 | Extreme |
| Oct | 11 | Extreme |
| Nov | 9 | Very high |
| Dec | 9 | Very high |
Air quality in Santa Cruz de Mara in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Santa Cruz de Mara is worst in June — around 31 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.6× the cleanest month (December, 12 µg/m³).
Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 12 | 16 | 23 | 27 | 30 | 31 | 27 | 27 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 12 |
| Level | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Good |
| Feb | 16 | Moderate |
| Mar | 23 | Moderate |
| Apr | 27 | Moderate |
| May | 30 | Moderate |
| Jun | 31 | Moderate |
| Jul | 27 | Moderate |
| Aug | 27 | Moderate |
| Sep | 20 | Moderate |
| Oct | 17 | Moderate |
| Nov | 15 | Moderate |
| Dec | 12 | Good |
Where is Santa Cruz de Mara?
Santa Cruz de Mara sits at 10.8°N, 71.7°W, 13 m above sea level, in Venezuela. The nearest listed city is Maracaibo, 19 km away.
Topography around Santa Cruz de Mara
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Santa Cruz de Mara.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Santa Cruz de Mara has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 40 m around an average of 10 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 92 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,174 m.
The land around Santa Cruz de Mara is covered by water (31%) and grassland (27%) within 3 km, water (40%) and grassland (28%) within 16 km, and water (36%) and grassland (33%) within 80 km.
Venezuela travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 3
- Reconsider Travel
- Power plugs
- Type A / B
- 120 V · 60 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 0% of US
- price level, 2011
- GDP per capita
- $3,495
- 2025
- Happiness
- 5.8 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Homicide rate
- 12.6
- per 100k, 2022
- Road deaths
- 39
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Lower middle
- World Bank
- English
- Moderate
- EF EPI 520
- 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 Santa Cruz de Mara (10.7927°, -71.6851°, elevation 13 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.