Weather in Uruguay

Uruguay has a long coastline on the Atlantic Ocean and the Río de la Plata, tucked between southern Brazil and eastern Argentina. Its climate is temperate and humid all year, with warm summers, and it is not tropical. INUMET, Uruguay’s national weather institute, places the whole country in one climate type (Köppen Cfa), because its regions differ too little to split. There is no dry season, and the seasons run opposite to North America’s.

Mild is the rule, though not a promise. Across the 16 stations in Uruguay’s official 1991–2020 climate normals, the extremes run from 107.6°F (42.0°C) at Paysandú to 16.7°F (−8.5°C) at Florida, in the south-central interior.

Uruguay weather by month

These are Uruguay’s official 1991–2020 climate normals, published through the World Meteorological Organization and archived by NOAA, for Montevideo’s Carrasco airport on the coast (WMO 86580) and Salto in the northwest (WMO 86360). A rainy day has at least 0.04 in (1 mm) of rain.

Montevideo (Carrasco airport)

Salto (northwest)

The four seasons

Seasons are distinct in Uruguay, and they follow the southern-hemisphere calendar.

Summer (December to February)

Summer is warm and bright. In January, the height of the season, Montevideo averages 81°F (27.3°C) in the afternoon and 64°F (17.9°C) at night, with more than nine hours of sunshine a day and about eight days at 86°F (30°C) or more. Inland it is properly hot: Salto averages 90°F (32.2°C), with 23 such days. INUMET tracks heat waves as a summer phenomenon, and summer rain is the most variable of the four seasons.

Autumn (March to May)

Autumn is mild. Montevideo eases from 77°F (25.2°C) in March to 65°F (18.5°C) in May, with May nights near 51°F (10.3°C), and March is its wettest month. At Salto, in the northwest, April is the wettest month of the year, with 6.2 in (157 mm).

Winter (June to August)

Winter is quite cold and damp, but rarely freezing. July is the coldest month nationally: Montevideo averages 58°F (14.5°C) by day and 44°F (6.6°C) at night, with under five hours of sun a day and rain on about seven days a month. Certainly it is not beach weather, yet city days and the countryside still suit the season, and a Montevideo and estancias trip is one way to spend it.

Spring (September to November)

Spring starts damp, cool and windy, then warms quickly. Montevideo climbs from 64°F (17.6°C) in September to 74°F (23.2°C) in November, and October brings its most rainy days. Salto’s rain returns too, 5.9 in (150 mm) in October.

The coast and the interior

Northwestern Uruguay, farthest from the ocean, has the hottest summers and the driest winters. Salto runs 8 to 9°F warmer than Montevideo on December and January afternoons and averages 96 days a year at 86°F (30°C) or more, against Montevideo’s 29. In July it gets 2.2 in (55 mm) of rain; Montevideo gets 3.8 in (97 mm), and its rain barely changes from month to month.

The coast experiences milder temperatures. INUMET’s summer climatology puts the coolest temperatures on the southern Atlantic coast, the stretch running east from Punta del Este through José Ignacio into Rocha, though the official normals carry no station on that shore. The Rocha station, in the east, records more rainy days than any other, 91 a year. Our suggested Montevideo and Punta del Este itinerary includes that coast.

Rain follows its own map. The north and northeast are wettest, 62.3 in (1,583 mm) a year at Rivera, and the Río de la Plata shore is driest, 45.0 in (1,144 mm) at Colonia. In winter the wettest area shifts east, to Treinta y Tres, Cerro Largo and Rocha.

Wind, fronts and fast-changing weather

Uruguay is gently rolling country, almost entirely without mountains: its highest point, Cerro Catedral, reaches 1,685 ft (513.6 m). With so little high ground, it is open to strong winds and fast-changing weather, and on average a weather front crosses the country every week, INUMET says.

Two winds have names. The pampero is a cold, gusty wind that follows a cold front as the wind turns to the south, and it drops the temperature and humidity sharply; Argentina’s national weather service calls it typical of the Pampas and Uruguay. The sudestada blows hard from the southeast along the coast, holds back the Río de la Plata, and brings rain and storms. Extratropical storms also form here, mostly between autumn and spring.

All that water keeps the air humid year-round and brings fog. If a beach day matters to you, keep a spare day in the plan.

Snow, frost and heat

Snow is rare in Uruguay, but it does happen. On July 28, 2021, INUMET reported snowfall in the Sierras del Este, at Villa Serrana in Lavalleja and at Molles de Aiguá in Maldonado.

Frost is a winter fact inland. Florida and Mercedes average 14 nights a year below 32°F (0°C), most of them between June and August. Montevideo’s Carrasco station averages two, and Colonia none.

Heat is the other extreme: Paysandú, on the Río Uruguay, reached 107.6°F (42.0°C), and Montevideo’s airport 103.6°F (39.8°C). On hot January days in the interior, save long walks for morning and evening.

What to pack for the weather

Pack for wind and rain in any season. Summer calls for light clothes, a hat, sun protection and a sweater for evenings on the coast. From June to August, bring warm layers and a windproof, waterproof jacket, since Montevideo nights average about 45°F (7°C). Our Uruguay packing list covers the rest.

Weather is one part of choosing when to go, and our guide to the best time to visit Uruguay takes it from there. Our Destination Consultants can custom design a Uruguay trip around the weather you like best, or you can browse our Uruguay tours.