Donostia / San Sebastián climate

Name: Donostia / San Sebastián
Address: ES

Donostia / San Sebastián is warmest in August, with average highs of 23 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average 6.1 °C. November is the wettest month (178 mm) and July the driest (81 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Donostia / San Sebastián averages 1,465 mm of rain, 26 days above 25 °C and 3 days below freezing.

Spain · population 185,357 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month August 23 °C
Coldest month February 6.1 °C
Driest month July 81 mm
Wettest month November 178 mm
Least cloud August 57 % cloud
Hottest on record July 40 °C
Coldest on record February -3.8 °C
Warmest sea August 22 °C

What to expectDonostia / San Sebastián through the year

Donostia / San Sebastián has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 12 °C in February to 23 °C in August, a swing of 12 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 26 days a year reach 25 °C, 4 of them reach 30 °C, 3 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C, in July.

Rain is strongly seasonal. November averages 178 mm against 81 mm in July — 2.2 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.

The sea off Donostia / San Sebastián is warmest in August at 22 °C and coldest in February at 12 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	11.2 °C	144 mm	70 %
February	11.6 °C	130 mm	66 %
March	13.8 °C	120 mm	64 %
April	15.2 °C	128 mm	66 %
May	18.0 °C	122 mm	66 %
June	20.6 °C	95 mm	63 %
July	22.4 °C	81 mm	59 %
August	23.3 °C	89 mm	57 %
September	21.4 °C	102 mm	57 %
October	18.8 °C	134 mm	63 %
November	14.2 °C	178 mm	68 %
December	11.9 °C	142 mm	70 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days above 30 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	11.2 °C	6.3 °C	8.6 °C	20.0 °C	-2.4 °C	0	0	1
February	11.6 °C	6.1 °C	8.8 °C	25.7 °C	-3.8 °C	0	0	1
March	13.8 °C	7.6 °C	10.6 °C	24.3 °C	-2.6 °C	0	0	0
April	15.2 °C	9.0 °C	12.1 °C	27.1 °C	2.9 °C	0	0	0
May	18.0 °C	11.7 °C	15.0 °C	31.9 °C	3.4 °C	2	0	0
June	20.6 °C	14.5 °C	17.6 °C	36.6 °C	8.4 °C	4	1	0
July	22.4 °C	16.6 °C	19.5 °C	39.7 °C	10.5 °C	5	1	0
August	23.3 °C	17.2 °C	20.2 °C	35.4 °C	11.3 °C	9	2	0
September	21.4 °C	15.3 °C	18.4 °C	34.2 °C	7.9 °C	5	0	0
October	18.8 °C	13.1 °C	15.9 °C	28.0 °C	3.6 °C	2	0	0
November	14.2 °C	9.4 °C	11.7 °C	24.3 °C	-0.6 °C	0	0	0
December	11.9 °C	7.3 °C	9.5 °C	20.2 °C	-2.9 °C	0	0	1

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	144 mm	15	9.3 h/day	70 %	79 %	20 km/h	12.7 °C
February	130 mm	14	10 h/day	66 %	77 %	20 km/h	12.2 °C
March	120 mm	14	12 h/day	64 %	76 %	19 km/h	12.5 °C
April	128 mm	16	13 h/day	66 %	77 %	18 km/h	13.6 °C
May	122 mm	15	15 h/day	66 %	79 %	17 km/h	15.8 °C
June	95 mm	12	15 h/day	63 %	81 %	16 km/h	18.9 °C
July	81 mm	12	15 h/day	59 %	82 %	15 km/h	21.2 °C
August	89 mm	12	14 h/day	57 %	81 %	15 km/h	22.2 °C
September	102 mm	13	13 h/day	57 %	79 %	16 km/h	20.8 °C
October	134 mm	14	11 h/day	63 %	77 %	18 km/h	18.3 °C
November	178 mm	16	9.7 h/day	68 %	79 %	20 km/h	15.8 °C
December	142 mm	15	9.0 h/day	70 %	79 %	20 km/h	13.8 °C

How Donostia / San Sebastián compares

The same four figures for nearby destinations, so the numbers above have something to be read against. Summer high is the warmest month's average high; winter low is the coldest month's average low.

Destination	Summer high	Winter low	Rain per year	Days above 25 °C
Donostia / San Sebastián	23 °C	6.1 °C	1,465 mm	26
Pamplona · Spain	26 °C	1.3 °C	740 mm	55
Gasteiz / Vitoria · Spain	25 °C	1.4 °C	756 mm	47
Bilbao · Spain	23 °C	6.7 °C	1,083 mm	26
Logroño · Spain	27 °C	1.9 °C	572 mm	70
Santander · Spain	24 °C	5.5 °C	1,167 mm	34
Burgos · Spain	26 °C	0.06 °C	578 mm	56

Where Donostia / San Sebastián ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
Warmest sea temperatures in Europe year-round	41st of 50	16 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in April	42nd of 50	14 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in October	43rd of 50	18 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in November	44th of 50	16 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in September	44th of 50	21 °C
Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in February	45th of 50	12 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Donostia / San Sebastián.

QuestionsCommon questions about Donostia / San Sebastián’s climate

When is the best time to visit Donostia / San Sebastián?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. July, August, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and July the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Donostia / San Sebastián get?

In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 23 °C. About 4 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 6.1 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 3 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Donostia / San Sebastián?

November, averaging 178 mm over 16 days with rain. The driest month is July with 81 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,465 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Donostia / San Sebastián rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: 43.313°, -1.975° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.