Santa Cruz Temperature by Month
Santa Cruz, Portugal has an average annual maximum temperature of 19°C (66°F), with moderate seasonal shifts ranging from 15°C (59°F) in January to 23°C (73°F) in August. Below you'll find a full monthly breakdown and a comparison with cities worldwide.
Santa Cruz Monthly Temperatures
The climate in Santa Cruz experiences moderate temperature changes, with mild shifts between seasons. At night, temperatures range from 18°C (64°F) in August to 11°C (52°F) in January.
The chart below illustrates the average maximum day and minimum night temperatures in Santa Cruz by month:
Low temperatures are most often recorded between 4 AM and 6 AM, while highs typically occur around 3 PM. August, the city's warmest month, sees 255 hours of sunshine.
The chart below shows the average temperature throughout the year:
Temperature: Santa Cruz vs Portugal
The map below shows the annual temperature across Portugal. You can also select individual months if you want to compare a specific time of year.
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Santa Cruz vs World: Temperature Compared
Santa Cruz's average annual maximum temperature is 19°C (66°F). To put that in context, here's how it compares to a few well-known destinations:
Athens, Greece sits at 23°C (73°F) on average, with hot dry summers and mild winters characteristic of the Mediterranean.
Queenstown, New Zealand averages 10°C (50°F) annually, remember seasons are flipped, so its coldest months fall in June and July.
San Francisco, USA averages 19°C (66°F) annually, but with little seasonal variation, summers are often cool and foggy, winters mild.
Perth, Australia averages 25°C (77°F) annually, with a classic Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and mild wet winters.
What Does the Temperature Feel Like in Santa Cruz?
Temperature alone doesn't tell the whole story, humidity plays a big role in how warm or cold it actually feels. High humidity in summer makes the heat feel more intense, particularly once temperatures climb above 25°C. In winter, the same humidity can make cold air feel sharper than the thermometer suggests.
In Santa Cruz, January is the coolest month, with average highs of 15°C (59°F) and humidity around 82%, considered very high. For a full picture, see our humidity page.
Climate temperature data is typically calculated as a 30-year average. This smooths out year-to-year variability and gives a more reliable picture of what a place is actually like, rather than what happened in any single unusual year.
The readings come from a range of sources, land-based weather stations, ocean buoys, ships, and satellites. That data is collected by weather services around the world, then pooled, quality-checked, and averaged to produce the climate records you see here.
Seasonal temperature shifts influence more than just how warm it feels, they also drive changes in rainfall, cloud cover, and wind patterns throughout the year.
Warmer air holds more moisture, which tends to mean heavier or more frequent rain during the warmer months. When temperatures drop in winter, any precipitation that does fall is more likely to come as snow or sleet, though in Santa Cruz this rarely lasts long on the ground.
For more on Santa Cruz's weather, including monthly rainfall, sunshine hours, and humidity, visit our Santa Cruz climate page.
