Santa Cruz climate — normals and trends
Santa Cruz (Brazil) has a hot semi-arid climate (BSh) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 25.6 °C and it receives 355 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 (26.5 °C on average) and the coldest is July (24.2 °C). Rainfall peaks in March.
Santa Cruz averages 0 frost days, 263 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 79 rainy days per year.
Santa Cruz has warmed by +0.8 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.10 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The hottest day of the period reached 37.3 °C (on 12 January 2019) and the coldest 16.3 °C (on 1 August 1986).
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
Santa CruzRio Grande do Norte
- coords
- -6.23°, -36.02°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
25.6°C
Average daily high
31.1°C
Average daily low
21.6°C
Annual rainfall
355mm
Sunshine / day
10.8h
Mean relative humidity
71%
Average peak wind
21.5km/h
Seasonal range
2.3°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
0 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
263 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
79 d/yr
Annual snowfall
0.0 cm
Average feels-like high
32.4 °C
Average feels-like low
23.6 °C
Average peak gust
41.3 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
328 d/yr
Solar radiation
20.0 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+0.8 °C
since 1940
+0.1 °C per decade · r² = 0.39 · 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
37.3 °C
12 January 2019
Coldest day
16.3 °C
1 August 1986
Wettest day
189 mm
15 March 1969
Windiest day
35.3 km/h
5 September 2007
Strongest gust
61.6 km/h
5 September 2007
Hottest feels-like
40.3 °C
12 January 2019
Coldest feels-like
16.4 °C
19 September 1955
Sunniest day
12.4 h
30 December 1940
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 | 32.2 °C | +0.1 °C | 51 mm | +16 mm |
| Feb | 31.7 °C | -0.1 °C | 51 mm | +1 mm |
| Mar | 31.7 °C | +0.4 °C | 49 mm | -34 mm |
| Apr | 32.6 °C | +1.9 °C | 33 mm | -42 mm |
| May | 30.9 °C | +0.6 °C | 63 mm | +24 mm |
| Jun | 29.5 °C | +0.1 °C | 30 mm | +9 mm |
| Jul | 29.2 °C | +0.1 °C | 13 mm | -3 mm |
| Aug | 29.8 °C | -0.2 °C | 16 mm | +10 mm |
| Sep | 30.8 °C | -0.3 °C | 3 mm | -2 mm |
| Oct | 31.6 °C | -0.5 °C | 3 mm | -3 mm |
| Nov | 32.6 °C | +0.2 °C | 2 mm | -4 mm |
| Dec | 32.5 °C | +0.2 °C | 4 mm | -10 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 Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 25.6 °C and it receives 355 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Santa Cruz?
The hottest day measured in Santa Cruz between 1940 and 2025 was 12 January 2019, reaching 37.3 °C.
What is the coldest day in Santa Cruz?
The coldest day measured in Santa Cruz between 1940 and 2025 was 1 August 1986, at 16.3 °C.
Does it snow in Santa Cruz?
Almost never: Santa Cruz sees virtually no snow, with about 0 frost days per year.
Has the climate of Santa Cruz warmed?
Yes: Santa Cruz warmed by +0.8 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Santa Cruz?
The wettest day measured in Santa Cruz between 1940 and 2025 was 15 March 1969, with 189 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Santa Cruz?
The windiest day measured in Santa Cruz between 1940 and 2025 was 5 September 2007, with winds reaching 35.3 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Santa Cruz?
The warmest month in Santa Cruz is December (26.5 °C on average); the coldest is July (24.2 °C).
How much does it rain in Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz receives on average 355 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 79 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz gets on average 10.8 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,942 hours per year over 1940-2025.
Are there tropical nights in Santa Cruz?
Yes: Santa Cruz has on average 328 tropical nights per year (temperature staying above 20 °C), over 1940-2025.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Santa Cruz?
In Santa Cruz, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 40.3 °C on 12 January 2019, and the lowest was 16.4 °C on 19 September 1955.
Compare Santa Cruz with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Santa Cruz