- Temperature
- Feels like
- Rain
- Wind
- Sea water
- Waves
- Updated
Sea water: 15.1°C, warming slightly to around 16°C over the coming days
Waves: 1.7m
At 15.1 °C the water in Viana do Castelo is cold. Without a wetsuit, a swim stays short.
Sunrise: 07:00 · Sunset: 17:38 · Day length: 10h 38m
| Day | Sea water | Waves |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday 25/10 | 15.1 °C | 1.7 m |
| Monday 26/10 | 15.4 °C | 1.7 m |
| Tuesday 27/10 | 15.3 °C | 2.1 m |
| Wednesday 28/10 | 15.6 °C | 2.2 m |
| Thursday 29/10 | 15.7 °C | 1.7 m |
| Friday 30/10 | 15.6 °C | 1.4 m |
| Saturday 31/10 | 15.7 °C | 1.5 m |
| Month | Average water |
|---|---|
| January | 13.6 °C |
| February | 13.5 °C |
| March | 14.1 °C |
| April | 15.8 °C |
| May | 15.9 °C |
| June | 17.6 °C |
| July | 16.8 °C |
| August | 16.4 °C |
| September | 16.7 °C |
| October | 18.0 °C |
| November | 16.5 °C |
| December | 14.5 °C |
Monthly averages for 2022–2025.
This page shows the water temperature at Viana do Castelo today and over the next seven days, so you can pick the best beach day before you go.
Sea temperature moves much more slowly than air temperature. A hot afternoon does not warm the ocean, and a windy day can cool it fast. Checking the water itself is the only reliable way to know what to expect.
Viana do Castelo sits on the Minho coast, with Cabedelo beach across the mouth of the Lima river. Reliable wind makes it a kitesurfing and windsurfing destination, and the sea is among the coldest in the country, typically 15 to 17 °C in summer.
The water is warmest in October, averaging 18.0 °C, and coldest in February at 13.5 °C. This is Portugal's coldest water: upwelling is at its most persistent here and holds the warming back even at the height of summer.
The ocean gains and loses heat far more slowly than land, so it runs months behind the seasons. On top of that, the summer northerly wind pushes surface water offshore and draws cold deep water up in its place, which is why a heatwave on land so often coincides with a colder sea.
Cabedelo is the stage: kitesurfing and windsurfing on nortada afternoons, surf schools in the tamer morning sea. From the top of Santa Luzia you can see the whole coast, and the Lima river adds rowing and sailing on sheltered water.