Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Río Gallegos Argentina

In Río Gallegos, the summers are long, cool, and extremely windy; the winters are short, very cold, and windy; and it is dry and partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 30°F to 66°F and is rarely below 21°F or above 75°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Río Gallegos for warm-weather activities is from mid December to late February.

The warm season lasts for 4.1 months, from November 14 to March 17, with an average daily high temperature above 61°F. The hottest month of the year in Río Gallegos is January, with an average high of 66°F and low of 47°F.

The cold season lasts for 2.9 months, from May 21 to August 18, with an average daily high temperature below 45°F. The coldest month of the year in Río Gallegos is July, with an average low of 31°F and high of 41°F.

The clearest month of the year in Río Gallegos is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 51% of the time.

The cloudiest month of the year in Río Gallegos is May, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 57% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Río Gallegos varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.8 months, from November 19 to June 13, with a greater than 14% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Río Gallegos is March, with an average of 5.7 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.2 months, from June 13 to November 19. The month with the fewest wet days in Río Gallegos is September, with an average of 2.8 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Río Gallegos is March, with an average of 5.7 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 20% on March 26.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Río Gallegos experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 9.9 months, from November 6 to September 2, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Río Gallegos is March, with an average rainfall of 1.0 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 2.1 months, from September 2 to November 6. The month with the least rain in Río Gallegos is September, with an average rainfall of 0.4 inches.

The length of the day in Río Gallegos varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 20, with 7 hours, 48 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 16 hours, 40 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:13 AM on December 13, and the latest sunrise is 4 hours, 32 minutes later at 9:44 AM on June 24. The earliest sunset is at 5:32 PM on June 15, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 25 minutes later at 9:57 PM on December 29.

Daylight saving time (DST) is not observed in Río Gallegos during 2024.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Río Gallegos, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Río Gallegos experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 5.4 months, from October 16 to March 28, with average wind speeds of more than 15.3 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Río Gallegos is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 16.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 6.6 months, from March 28 to October 16. The calmest month of the year in Río Gallegos is June, with an average hourly wind speed of 14.0 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Río Gallegos is from the west throughout the year.

Río Gallegos is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.4 months, from December 22 to April 4, with an average temperature above 49°F. The month of the year in Río Gallegos with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 52°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.4 months, from June 29 to October 9, with an average temperature below 42°F. The month of the year in Río Gallegos with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 40°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Río Gallegos throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Río Gallegos for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid December to late February, with a peak score in the second week of January.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Río Gallegos for hot-weather activities is from early January to mid February, with a peak score in the last week of January.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Río Gallegos typically lasts for 5.5 months (165 days), from around October 23 to around April 6, rarely starting before September 27 or after November 17, and rarely ending before March 8 or after May 6.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Río Gallegos should appear around November 2, only rarely appearing before October 24 or after November 13.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.4 months, from November 1 to February 12, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 5.3 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Río Gallegos is December, with an average of 6.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.0 months, from April 21 to August 21, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.9 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Río Gallegos is June, with an average of 0.7 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Río Gallegos are -51.623 deg latitude, -69.218 deg longitude, and 49 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Río Gallegos is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 82 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 27 feet. Within 10 miles is essentially flat (558 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,004 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Río Gallegos is covered by water (31%), trees (16%), grassland (12%), and artificial surfaces (11%), within 10 miles by shrubs (42%) and water (24%), and within 50 miles by water (46%) and shrubs (38%).