El Calafate climate — normals and trends
El Calafate (Argentina) has a subarctic climate (Dfc) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 5.2 °C and it receives 648 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 January (11.0 °C on average) and the coldest is July (-1.0 °C). Rainfall peaks in April.
El Calafate averages 130 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 135 rainy days per year.
El Calafate has warmed by +2.2 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.25 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 155 to 105 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 28.9 °C (on 28 January 1975) and the coldest -11.7 °C (on 19 July 1973).
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
El CalafateSanta Cruz
- coords
- -50.34°, -72.28°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
5.2°C
Average daily high
8.7°C
Average daily low
1.9°C
Annual rainfall
648mm
Sunshine / day
9.5h
Mean relative humidity
75%
Average peak wind
13.2km/h
Seasonal range
12.0°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
130 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
135 d/yr
Annual snowfall
117.3 cm
Average feels-like high
5.7 °C
Average feels-like low
-1.2 °C
Average peak gust
34.6 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
13.8 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+2.2 °C
since 1940
+0.3 °C per decade · r² = 0.58 · 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
28.9 °C
28 January 1975
Coldest day
-11.7 °C
19 July 1973
Wettest day
60 mm
25 June 2012
Windiest day
37.5 km/h
12 December 1961
Strongest gust
106.9 km/h
20 November 2010
Hottest feels-like
29.2 °C
28 January 1975
Coldest feels-like
-16.0 °C
19 July 1973
Snowiest day
35.8 cm
25 June 2012
Sunniest day
15.9 h
24 December 2025
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 | 17.5 °C | +2.4 °C | 75 mm | +20 mm |
| Feb | 14.8 °C | -0.1 °C | 48 mm | -9 mm |
| Mar | 13.6 °C | +0.9 °C | 64 mm | +2 mm |
| Apr | 10.3 °C | +1.1 °C | 51 mm | -16 mm |
| May | 5.6 °C | +0.5 °C | 62 mm | +0 mm |
| Jun | 3.8 °C | +1.8 °C | 39 mm | -11 mm |
| Jul | 2.9 °C | +1.6 °C | 76 mm | +22 mm |
| Aug | 5.0 °C | +2.2 °C | 35 mm | -17 mm |
| Sep | 8.4 °C | +2.6 °C | 40 mm | -5 mm |
| Oct | 9.9 °C | +0.9 °C | 96 mm | +45 mm |
| Nov | 14.4 °C | +2.4 °C | 109 mm | +62 mm |
| Dec | 14.5 °C | +0.5 °C | 66 mm | +17 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 El Calafate?
El Calafate has a subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 5.2 °C and it receives 648 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in El Calafate?
The hottest day measured in El Calafate between 1940 and 2025 was 28 January 1975, reaching 28.9 °C.
What is the coldest day in El Calafate?
The coldest day measured in El Calafate between 1940 and 2025 was 19 July 1973, at -11.7 °C.
Does it snow in El Calafate?
Yes. El Calafate gets on average 117.3 cm of snow per year and has around 130 frost days.
Has the climate of El Calafate warmed?
Yes: El Calafate warmed by +2.2 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in El Calafate?
The wettest day measured in El Calafate between 1940 and 2025 was 25 June 2012, with 60 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in El Calafate?
The windiest day measured in El Calafate between 1940 and 2025 was 12 December 1961, with winds reaching 37.5 km/h.
What is the warmest month in El Calafate?
The warmest month in El Calafate is January (11.0 °C on average); the coldest is July (-1.0 °C).
How much does it rain in El Calafate?
El Calafate receives on average 648 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 135 rainy days.
Is it sunny in El Calafate?
El Calafate gets on average 9.5 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,468 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in El Calafate?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in El Calafate between 1940 and 2025 was 25 June 2012, with 35.8 cm.
Are there tropical nights in El Calafate?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in El Calafate.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in El Calafate?
In El Calafate, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 29.2 °C on 28 January 1975, and the lowest was -16.0 °C on 19 July 1973.
Compare El Calafate with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around El Calafate