Barcelona weather winter: Travel season and climate in Barcelona

Daily high temperatures are around 57°F, rarely falling below 49°F or exceeding 65°F. The lowest daily average high temperature is 56°F on January 16.

Daily low temperatures are around 42°F, rarely falling below 33°F or exceeding 51°F. The lowest daily average low temperature is 40°F on January 12.

For reference, on August 6, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Barcelona typically range from 69°F to 83°F, while on January 11, the coldest day of the year, they range from 40°F to 56°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb35°F35°F40°F40°F45°F45°F50°F50°F55°F55°F60°F60°F65°F65°F70°F70°FFallSpringJan 856°FJan 856°F40°F40°FDec 159°FDec 159°F44°F44°FFeb 2958°FFeb 2958°F43°F43°FFeb 156°FFeb 156°F41°F41°F

The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average winter temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in the Winter in Barcelona

Average Hourly Temperature in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMFallSpringvery coldcoldcoolcoolcool

frigid
15°F
freezing
32°F
very cold
45°F
cold
55°F
cool
65°F
comfortable
75°F
warm
85°F
hot
95°F
sweltering

The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Nevada City, California, United States (5,826 miles away) and La Plata, Argentina (6,511 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Barcelona (view comparison).

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Compare Barcelona to another city:

Map

The winter in Barcelona experiences essentially constant cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy remaining about 42% throughout the season. The lowest chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 41% on January 11.

The clearest day of the winter is January 11, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 59% of the time.

For reference, on October 24, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 47%, while on July 19, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 85%.

Cloud Cover Categories in the Winter in Barcelona

Cloud Cover Categories in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%FallSpringOct 2453%Oct 2453%Dec 158%Dec 158%Feb 2957%Feb 2957%Jan 158%Jan 158%Feb 158%Feb 158%clearmostly clearpartly cloudyovercast

0%
clear
20%
mostly clear
40%
partly cloudy
60%
mostly cloudy
80%
overcast
100%

The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Barcelona, the chance of a wet day over the course of the winter is essentially constant, remaining around 12% throughout.

For reference, the year’s highest daily chance of a wet day is 22% on October 4, and its lowest chance is 8% on July 14.

Probability of Precipitation in the Winter in Barcelona

Probability of Precipitation in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb0%0%2%2%4%4%6%6%8%8%10%10%12%12%14%14%16%16%18%18%FallSpringDec 2610%Dec 2610%Dec 114%Dec 114%Feb 2913%Feb 2913%Feb 111%Feb 111%rainmixed

The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the season and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during the winter in Barcelona is gradually decreasing, starting the season at 1.6 inches, when it rarely exceeds 3.8 inches or falls below 0.1 inches, and ending the season at 1.1 inches, when it rarely exceeds 2.9 inches.

The lowest average 31-day accumulation is 1.0 inches on December 31.

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Winter in Barcelona

Average Monthly Rainfall in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb0 in0 in1 in1 in2 in2 in3 in3 in4 in4 in5 in5 inFallSpringDec 311.0 inDec 311.0 inDec 11.6 inDec 11.6 inFeb 291.1 inFeb 291.1 inFeb 11.1 inFeb 11.1 in

The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Over the course of the winter in Barcelona, the length of the day is rapidly increasing. From the start to the end of the season, the length of the day increases by 1 hour, 49 minutes, implying an average daily increase of 1 minute, 13 seconds, and weekly increase of 8 minutes, 30 seconds.

The shortest day of the winter is December 22, with 9 hours, 11 minutes of daylight and the longest day is February 29, with 11 hours, 14 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Winter in Barcelona

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb0 hr24 hr4 hr20 hr8 hr16 hr12 hr12 hr16 hr8 hr20 hr4 hr24 hr0 hrFallSpringDec 229 hr, 11 minDec 229 hr, 11 minnightnightdaydayFeb 2911 hr, 14 minFeb 2911 hr, 14 minFeb 110 hr, 3 minFeb 110 hr, 3 min

The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The latest sunrise of the winter in Barcelona is 8:17 AM on January 4 and the earliest sunrise is 51 minutes earlier at 7:26 AM on February 29.

The earliest sunset is 5:21 PM on December 9 and the latest sunset is 1 hour, 20 minutes later at 6:41 PM on February 29.

Daylight saving time is observed in Barcelona during 2023, but it neither starts nor ends during the winter, so the entire season is in standard time.

For reference, on June 21, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 6:17 AM and sets 15 hours, 10 minutes later, at 9:28 PM, while on December 22, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 8:14 AM and sets 9 hours, 11 minutes later, at 5:25 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in the Winter in Barcelona

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMFallSpring7:26 AM7:26 AMFeb 296:41 PMFeb 296:41 PM8:05 AM8:05 AMDec 95:21 PMDec 95:21 PM8:17 AM8:17 AMJan 45:34 PMJan 45:34 PM8:03 AM8:03 AMFeb 16:06 PMFeb 16:06 PMSolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunset

The solar day in the winter. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun’s elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Winter in Barcelona

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb12 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMFallSpring00102030300101020

northeastsouthwest

Solar elevation and azimuth in the the winter of 2023. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for the winter of 2023. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Winter in Barcelona

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb12 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMFallSpringNov 1310:28 AMNov 1310:28 AMNov 2710:17 AMNov 2710:17 AMDec 1312:33 AMDec 1312:33 AMDec 271:34 AMDec 271:34 AMJan 1112:58 PMJan 1112:58 PMJan 256:55 PMJan 256:55 PMFeb 1012:00 AMFeb 1012:00 AMFeb 241:31 PMFeb 241:31 PMMar 1010:01 AMMar 1010:01 AMMar 258:01 AMMar 258:01 AM5:26 PM5:26 PM4:36 PM4:36 PM8:04 AM8:04 AM4:39 PM4:39 PM8:39 AM8:39 AM5:30 PM5:30 PM8:56 AM8:56 AM5:41 PM5:41 PM8:10 AM8:10 AM7:13 PM7:13 PM6:30 PM6:30 PM6:53 AM6:53 AM

The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Barcelona is essentially constant during the winter, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on August 9, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 61% of the time, while on January 1, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Winter in Barcelona

Humidity Comfort Levels in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb0%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%FallSpringDec 10%Dec 10%Feb 290%Feb 290%Jan 10%Jan 10%Feb 10%Feb 10%drydryhumidhumidcomfortablecomfortable

dry
55°F
comfortable
60°F
humid
65°F
muggy
70°F
oppressive
75°F
miserable

The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Barcelona is essentially constant during the winter, remaining within 0.2 miles per hour of 8.4 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on December 15, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 8.7 miles per hour, while on July 24, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 6.8 miles per hour.

The highest daily average wind speed during the winter is 8.7 miles per hour on December 15.

Average Wind Speed in the Winter in Barcelona

Average Wind Speed in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb0 mph0 mph3 mph3 mph5 mph5 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph20 mph20 mph22 mph22 mph24 mph24 mphFallSpringDec 158. 7 mphDec 158.7 mphFeb 298.3 mphFeb 298.3 mphFeb 18.4 mphFeb 18.4 mph

The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The hourly average wind direction in Barcelona throughout the winter is predominantly from the west, with a peak proportion of 47% on December 26.

Wind Direction in the Winter in Barcelona

Wind Direction in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb0%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%FallSpringwestsoutheastnorth

northeastsouthwest

The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Barcelona is located near a large body of water (e. g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Barcelona is decreasing during the winter, falling by 5°F, from 61°F to 55°F, over the course of the season.

The lowest average surface water temperature during the winter is 55°F on February 24.

Average Water Temperature in the Winter in Barcelona

Average Water Temperature in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb52°F52°F54°F54°F56°F56°F58°F58°F60°F60°F62°F62°F64°F64°F66°F66°F68°F68°F70°F70°FFallSpringFeb 2455°FFeb 2455°FDec 161°FDec 161°FJan 157°FJan 157°FFeb 156°FFeb 156°F

The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Barcelona typically lasts for 11 months (346 days), from around January 24 to around January 5, rarely starting after March 4, or ending before November 25.

The winter in Barcelona is more likely than not fully outside of the growing season, with the chance that a given day is in the growing season reaching a low of 45% on January 17.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Winter in Barcelona

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%FallSpring45%Jan 1545%Jan 1590%Nov 2590%Nov 25very coldcoldcoolcomfortable

frigid
15°F
freezing
32°F
very cold
45°F
cold
55°F
cool
65°F
comfortable
75°F
warm
85°F
hot
95°F
sweltering

The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Barcelona are very rapidly decreasing during the winter, decreasing by 4,074°F, from 4,190°F to 117°F, over the course of the season.

Growing Degree Days in the Winter in Barcelona

Growing Degree Days in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb500°F500°F1,000°F1,000°F1,500°F1,500°F2,000°F2,000°F2,500°F2,500°F3,000°F3,000°F3,500°F3,500°F4,000°F4,000°F4,500°F4,500°FFallSpringDec 14,190°FDec 14,190°FFeb 28117°FFeb 28117°FJan 10°FJan 10°F

The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of the winter, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Barcelona is rapidly increasing during the winter, rising by 1.7 kWh, from 2.1 kWh to 3.8 kWh, over the course of the season.

The lowest average daily incident shortwave solar energy during the winter is 2.0 kWh on December 18.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Winter in Barcelona

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in the Winter in BarcelonaDecJanFeb0 kWh0 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWhFallSpringDec 182.0 kWhDec 182. 0 kWhFeb 293.8 kWhFeb 293.8 kWhFeb 12.7 kWhFeb 12.7 kWh

The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Barcelona are 41.389 deg latitude, 2.159 deg longitude, and 154 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Barcelona contains significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 620 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 186 feet. Within 10 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,713 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (5,561 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Barcelona is covered by artificial surfaces (96%), within 10 miles by water (39%) and artificial surfaces (33%), and within 50 miles by water (51%) and trees (22%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Barcelona, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There are 2 weather stations near enough to contribute to our estimation of the temperature and dew point in Barcelona.

For each station, the records are corrected for the elevation difference between that station and Barcelona according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

The estimated value at Barcelona is computed as the weighted average of the individual contributions from each station, with weights proportional to the inverse of the distance between Barcelona and a given station.

The stations contributing to this reconstruction are:

• Barcelona–El Prat Airport (LEBL, 93%, 8 mi, southwest, -144 ft elevation change)
• Aeroport de Girona – Costa Brava (LEGE, 7%, 47 mi, northeast, 312 ft elevation change)

LEBL, 93%8 mi, -144 ftLEGE, 7%47 mi, 312 ft

© OpenStreetMap contributors

To get a sense of how much these sources agree with each other, you can view a comparison of Barcelona and the stations that contribute to our estimates of its temperature history and climate. Please note that each source’s contribution is adjusted for elevation and the relative change present in the MERRA-2 data.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun’s position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA’s MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

Please review our full terms contained on our Terms of Service page.

Barcelona

Província de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

© OpenStreetMap contributors