Cafayate climate — normals and trends
Cafayate (Argentina) has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Cwb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 13.3 °C and it receives 665 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is December (17.1 °C on average) and the coldest is July (8.4 °C). Rainfall peaks in January.
Cafayate averages 22 frost days, 4 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 108 rainy days per year.
Cafayate has warmed by +1.6 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.19 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 18 to 26 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 35.2 °C (on 26 December 1997) and the coldest -12.7 °C (on 24 July 1981).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
CafayateSalta
- coords
- -26.07°, -65.98°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
13.3°C
Average daily high
20.0°C
Average daily low
8.1°C
Annual rainfall
665mm
Sunshine / day
10.5h
Mean relative humidity
61%
Average peak wind
10.5km/h
Seasonal range
8.7°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
22 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
4 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
108 d/yr
Annual snowfall
4.5 cm
Average feels-like high
18.8 °C
Average feels-like low
6.3 °C
Average peak gust
31.2 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
20.4 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.6 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.51 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
35.2 °C
26 December 1997
Coldest day
-12.7 °C
24 July 1981
Wettest day
94 mm
4 February 1981
Windiest day
31.3 km/h
29 August 2005
Strongest gust
91.8 km/h
29 August 2005
Hottest feels-like
35.7 °C
27 January 1998
Coldest feels-like
-17.4 °C
24 July 1981
Snowiest day
9.3 cm
27 June 2014
Sunniest day
13.5 h
6 December 2024
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 23.2 °C | +0.7 °C | 121 mm | -31 mm |
| Feb | 27.1 °C | +5.5 °C | 53 mm | -77 mm |
| Mar | 21.8 °C | +0.7 °C | 72 mm | -11 mm |
| Apr | 20.1 °C | +0.2 °C | 6 mm | -25 mm |
| May | 20.7 °C | +2.5 °C | 2 mm | -9 mm |
| Jun | 15.9 °C | -0.8 °C | 1 mm | -3 mm |
| Jul | 17.9 °C | +1.4 °C | 6 mm | +0 mm |
| Aug | 17.4 °C | -0.6 °C | 4 mm | -3 mm |
| Sep | 21.6 °C | +2.3 °C | 1 mm | -16 mm |
| Oct | 22.2 °C | +0.9 °C | 30 mm | -9 mm |
| Nov | 24.1 °C | +1.7 °C | 23 mm | -50 mm |
| Dec | 23.7 °C | +0.7 °C | 99 mm | -14 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Cafayate?
Cafayate has a subtropical highland, dry winter climate (Köppen Cwb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 13.3 °C and it receives 665 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Cafayate?
The hottest day measured in Cafayate between 1940 and 2025 was 26 December 1997, reaching 35.2 °C.
What is the coldest day in Cafayate?
The coldest day measured in Cafayate between 1940 and 2025 was 24 July 1981, at -12.7 °C.
Does it snow in Cafayate?
Yes. Cafayate gets on average 4.5 cm of snow per year and has around 22 frost days.
Has the climate of Cafayate warmed?
Yes: Cafayate warmed by +1.6 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Cafayate?
The wettest day measured in Cafayate between 1940 and 2025 was 4 February 1981, with 94 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Cafayate?
The windiest day measured in Cafayate between 1940 and 2025 was 29 August 2005, with winds reaching 31.3 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Cafayate?
The warmest month in Cafayate is December (17.1 °C on average); the coldest is July (8.4 °C).
How much does it rain in Cafayate?
Cafayate receives on average 665 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 108 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Cafayate?
Cafayate gets on average 10.5 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,833 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Cafayate?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Cafayate between 1940 and 2025 was 27 June 2014, with 9.3 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Cafayate?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Cafayate.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Cafayate?
In Cafayate, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 35.7 °C on 27 January 1998, and the lowest was -17.4 °C on 24 July 1981.
Compare Cafayate with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Cafayate