- Temperature
- Feels like
- Rain
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- Sea water
- Waves
- Updated
Right now in Porto Santo: partly cloudy, 23°C, feels like 23°C.
Expect a mostly partly cloudy week in Porto Santo, with temperatures staying fairly steady between 22°C and 26°C.
Daytime highs this week are close to the August average of 24°C.
Sunrise: 07:37 · Sunset: 20:35 · Day length: 12h 59m
Sea water: 24.2°C, practically unchanged all week
Wave height: 2.1m (min 1.0m on 2026-09-03, max 2.1m on 2026-08-28)
Porto Santo water temperature for the next 7 days · Sea temperature along the whole coast
Porto Santo lies northeast of Madeira and is a different island in almost every way: flat, dry and golden, with nine kilometres of sand running along its south coast. That beach is the reason people come, since Madeira itself has almost none. Christopher Columbus lived here, and the house that bears his name is a museum in the town. The sand has long been considered good for aching joints, and people bury themselves in it as a treatment.
The climate is mild and dry all year, with summer afternoons around 24–26 °C and winter days near 18–19 °C. Rain is scarce and falls mostly in short winter spells. Surrounded by deep Atlantic water, the sea changes slowly and gently, running roughly 19–23 °C across the year, which makes swimming comfortable in months when the mainland is out of the question.
| Month | Min (°C) | Max (°C) | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 16.1 | 18.8 | 7.1 |
| February | 15.5 | 18.5 | 7.7 |
| March | 15.5 | 18.6 | 9.6 |
| April | 16.2 | 19.3 | 7.4 |
| May | 17.4 | 20.4 | 7.1 |
| June | 19.1 | 21.9 | 7.7 |
| July | 20.6 | 23.2 | 4.0 |
| August | 21.7 | 24.3 | 3.5 |
| September | 21.5 | 24.1 | 5.9 |
| October | 20.6 | 23.3 | 8.9 |
| November | 18.6 | 21.2 | 7.7 |
| December | 17.2 | 19.7 | 7.0 |
Going by Porto Santo's own averages, August is both the warmest and the most balanced month: highs near 24 °C and about 4 rainy days. The wettest is March with 10 rainy days.
Averages for 2016–2025. A rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of precipitation.
From August to October, when the water reaches its high of about 23–24 °C. The low point comes in February and March at around 19 °C, still warmer than the mainland manages in midsummer. The seasonal swing here is one of the smallest in Portugal.
By ferry from Funchal, a crossing of about two and a half hours, or by a short flight from Madeira, with direct flights from the mainland in season. The ferry can be rough in winter swell. Most visitors stay several days, since the island is small and very quiet once the day boat leaves.
Flatter, drier and far quieter. Madeira is green, mountainous and rocky at the shore, while Porto Santo is essentially one long sandy beach with a small town behind it. If you want a beach holiday in the archipelago, this is where it happens.