Santander climate
Santander is warmest in August, with average highs of 24 °C, and coldest in February, when nights average 5.5 °C. November is the wettest month (151 mm) and July the driest (56 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Santander averages 1,167 mm of rain, 34 days above 25 °C and 1 days below freezing.
Spain · population 173,635 · 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 24 °C
- Coldest month February 5.5 °C
- Driest month July 56 mm
- Wettest month November 151 mm
- Least cloud August 55 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 40 °C
- Coldest on record January -1.9 °C
- Warmest sea August 22 °C
What to expectSantander through the year
Santander has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 13 °C in February to 24 °C in August, a swing of 11 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 34 days a year reach 25 °C, 4 of them reach 30 °C, 1 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 40 °C, in July.
Rain is strongly seasonal. November averages 151 mm against 56 mm in July — 2.7 times as much. Planning around the dry months matters more here than planning around temperature.
The sea off Santander is warmest in August at 22 °C and coldest in February at 13 °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 | 12.1 °C | 116 mm | 69 % |
| February | 12.6 °C | 107 mm | 66 % |
| March | 14.8 °C | 106 mm | 64 % |
| April | 16.1 °C | 105 mm | 65 % |
| May | 18.8 °C | 87 mm | 64 % |
| June | 21.3 °C | 69 mm | 61 % |
| July | 23.1 °C | 56 mm | 57 % |
| August | 23.9 °C | 62 mm | 55 % |
| September | 22.1 °C | 82 mm | 57 % |
| October | 19.4 °C | 113 mm | 62 % |
| November | 15.0 °C | 151 mm | 68 % |
| December | 12.9 °C | 114 mm | 68 % |
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 | 12.1 °C | 5.8 °C | 8.7 °C | 22.6 °C | -1.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| February | 12.6 °C | 5.5 °C | 8.7 °C | 24.4 °C | -1.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| March | 14.8 °C | 6.9 °C | 10.6 °C | 25.7 °C | -1.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| April | 16.1 °C | 8.3 °C | 12.0 °C | 30.4 °C | 2.1 °C | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| May | 18.8 °C | 11.1 °C | 14.9 °C | 32.7 °C | 4.6 °C | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| June | 21.3 °C | 14.0 °C | 17.5 °C | 37.6 °C | 7.5 °C | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| July | 23.1 °C | 16.0 °C | 19.4 °C | 39.8 °C | 10.9 °C | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| August | 23.9 °C | 16.6 °C | 20.0 °C | 36.4 °C | 11.2 °C | 10 | 2 | 0 |
| September | 22.1 °C | 14.8 °C | 18.2 °C | 32.2 °C | 7.8 °C | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| October | 19.4 °C | 12.4 °C | 15.6 °C | 31.4 °C | 4.4 °C | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 15.0 °C | 9.0 °C | 11.7 °C | 25.4 °C | 0.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| December | 12.9 °C | 6.7 °C | 9.5 °C | 21.2 °C | -1.4 °C | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind | Sea temp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 116 mm | 15 | 9.3 h/day | 69 % | 81 % | 21 km/h | 13.1 °C |
| February | 107 mm | 13 | 10 h/day | 66 % | 80 % | 21 km/h | 12.6 °C |
| March | 106 mm | 13 | 12 h/day | 64 % | 78 % | 20 km/h | 12.6 °C |
| April | 105 mm | 14 | 13 h/day | 65 % | 79 % | 20 km/h | 13.3 °C |
| May | 87 mm | 14 | 15 h/day | 64 % | 80 % | 18 km/h | 15.1 °C |
| June | 69 mm | 10 | 15 h/day | 61 % | 80 % | 18 km/h | 17.8 °C |
| July | 56 mm | 10 | 15 h/day | 57 % | 80 % | 17 km/h | 20.3 °C |
| August | 62 mm | 10 | 14 h/day | 55 % | 80 % | 17 km/h | 21.5 °C |
| September | 82 mm | 11 | 13 h/day | 57 % | 81 % | 18 km/h | 20.4 °C |
| October | 113 mm | 13 | 11 h/day | 62 % | 80 % | 19 km/h | 18.2 °C |
| November | 151 mm | 15 | 9.7 h/day | 68 % | 81 % | 21 km/h | 15.8 °C |
| December | 114 mm | 14 | 9.0 h/day | 68 % | 81 % | 21 km/h | 14.1 °C |
How Santander 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santander | 24 °C | 5.5 °C | 1,167 mm | 34 |
| Bilbao · Spain | 23 °C | 6.7 °C | 1,083 mm | 26 |
| Gasteiz / Vitoria · Spain | 25 °C | 1.4 °C | 756 mm | 47 |
| Burgos · Spain | 26 °C | 0.06 °C | 578 mm | 56 |
| Donostia / San Sebastián · Spain | 23 °C | 6.1 °C | 1,465 mm | 26 |
| Gijón · Spain | 22 °C | 5.7 °C | 1,216 mm | 10 |
| Logroño · Spain | 27 °C | 1.9 °C | 572 mm | 70 |
Where Santander ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The warmest places in Europe in January | 33rdof 50 | 12 °C |
| The warmest places in Europe in February | 36thof 50 | 13 °C |
| The warmest places in Europe in December | 38thof 50 | 13 °C |
| Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in December | 40thof 50 | 14 °C |
| Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in March | 41stof 50 | 13 °C |
| Warmest sea temperatures in Europe in November | 42ndof 50 | 16 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Santander.
QuestionsCommon questions about Santander’s climate
When is the best time to visit Santander?
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 Santander get?
In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 24 °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 5.5 °C in February, the coldest month. A normal year has 1 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Santander?
November, averaging 151 mm over 15 days with rain. The driest month is July with 56 mm. The year as a whole averages 1,167 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 Santander 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
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
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.