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The climate of Guarda is temperate, with quite cold winters and warm summers.
The city is located in eastern Portugal, north-east of the Serra da Estrela, and at 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) above sea level. It is therefore the highest city in Portugal.
Given the altitude, there can be snow and frost in winter. On the other hand, from mid-June to early September, there can be very hot periods, with highs of 35 °C (95 °F) or more (however, during heatwaves from Africa, at low altitudes, in the eastern part of Portugal it gets even hotter).
The cold record (of the 1971/2000 period) is -10.8 °C (13 °F), recorded in January 1985. The heat record is 38.3 °C (101 °F), recorded in July 1998.
The
average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 4 °C (39 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 19.6 °C (67 °F). Here are the average temperatures.
Guarda - Average temperatures (1981-2010) | Month | Min (°C) | Max (°C) | Mean (°C) | Min (°F) | Max (°F) | Mean (°F) |
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| January | 1 | 7 | 4 | 34 | 44 | 39.2 |
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| February | 2 | 9 | 5.4 | 36 | 47 | 41.8 |
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| March | 4 | 11 | 7.6 | 39 | 53 | 45.6 |
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| April | 5 | 12 | 8.5 | 40 | 54 | 47.3 |
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| May | 8 | 16 | 12 | 46 | 62 | 53.7 |
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| June | 11 | 21 | 16.2 | 52 | 70 | 61.2 |
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| July | 14 | 25 | 19.6 | 57 | 77 | 67.2 |
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| August | 14 | 25 | 19.4 | 57 | 77 | 67 |
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| September | 12 | 21 | 16.5 | 53 | 70 | 61.7 |
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| October | 8 | 15 | 11.6 | 47 | 59 | 53 |
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| November | 5 | 10 | 7.5 | 41 | 50 | 45.5 |
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| December | 3 | 8 | 5.4 | 37 | 46 | 41.6 |
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| Year | 7.3 | 15.1 | 11.15 | 45.1 | 59.2 | 52 |
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amounts to 880 millimeters (34.6 inches) per year: so, it is at an intermediate level. It ranges from 10 mm (0.4 in) in the driest month (August) to 140 mm (5.5 in) in the wettest (December). Here is the average precipitation.
Guarda - Average precipitation| Month | Millimeters | Inches | Days |
|---|
| January | 100 | 3.9 | 10 |
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| February | 85 | 3.3 | 9 |
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| March | 55 | 2.2 | 7 |
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| April | 85 | 3.3 | 10 |
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| May | 85 | 3.3 | 9 |
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| June | 45 | 1.8 | 5 |
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| July | 20 | 0.8 | 2 |
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| August | 10 | 0.4 | 2 |
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| September | 50 | 2 | 5 |
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| October | 105 | 4.1 | 9 |
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| November | 105 | 4.1 | 9 |
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| December | 140 | 5.5 | 11 |
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| Year | 880 | 34.6 | 87 |
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On average, there are around 2,760
sunshine hours per year: therefore, the amount of sunshine is very good. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.
Guarda - Sunshine hours| Month | Average | Total |
|---|
January | 4.5 | 135 | February | 5 | 145 | March | 6.5 | 200 | April | 7 | 215 | May | 9 | 280 | June | 10.5 | 310 | July | 12 | 380 | August | 11.5 | 360 | September | 8.5 | 260 | October | 6.5 | 200 | November | 5 | 145 | December | 4 | 130 | Year | 7.6 | 2755 |
Best Time
The
best time to visit Guarda runs from June to September, since it is the warmest and the least rainy period of the year. July and August are the warmest months, but the heat is rarely excessive, and in addition, they are the driest. However, in September too, the rains are still quite rare. In May, you can go, but cool and rainy days are more frequent.
Even in summer, it's better to bring a sweatshirt, and maybe a light jacket for the evening.
Those who want to avoid hot periods (which are quite rare, but possible) can choose the period from early May to mid-June and from mid-September to early October, although it rains more often.