Town · Norte, Portugal · 41.76°N 7.47°W
Santa Cruz, Norte
Santa Cruz is a town of 3,430 people in Norte, with January highs of 10°C, 6 days a year above 35°C, a hospital 2.0 km from the centre and Vila Real Airport (VRL) 58 km away.
Weather now
Not live yetForecast: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0)
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Normal for November, 1991-2020
13°high · low 6°C · 12 rain days
Who Santa Cruz suits
Generated from the data below by published rulesGood fit for
No good-fit verdicts for Santa Cruz yet. Verdicts only use values that are precise enough to judge with.
Weaker fit for
- Anyone who dislikes rain110 rainy days a year
Climate comfort
22/ 100
Rank 742 of 760 in Portugal
Based on: Average daily high (January), Days above 35°C (recent), Days with rain (year), Tropical nights (recent), Frost days (recent)
Car-free living
59/ 100
Top 35% in Portugal
Based on: Places within a 15-minute walk (grocery), Places within a 15-minute walk (pharmacy), Places within a 15-minute walk (cafe), Distance to nearest (train station), Distance to nearest (bus station)
Built on 75% of its inputs; the rest are not published for this town.
Access to services
59/ 100
Top 33% in Portugal
Based on: Distance to nearest (hospital), Nearest airport with scheduled flights, Places within a 15-minute walk (grocery), Places within a 15-minute walk (doctor), Places within a 15-minute walk (school)
How precise is each number?Town-levelmeasured or computed for this townModelledestimated from a grid or a modelRegionalonly available for the wider area
Santa Cruz compared with Porto
Pick another town in Portugal to see the differences in plain terms.
- 3°C colder in JanuaryAverage January highSanta Cruz 10°CPorto 13°C
- 2°C hotter in JulyAverage July highSanta Cruz 28°CPorto 26°C
- 9 fewer rainy days a yearDays with rain per yearSanta Cruz 110Porto 119
- 5 more very hot days a yearDays above 35°C per yearSanta Cruz 6.2Porto 1.0
- 3 min less daylight in DecemberDaylight on 21 DecemberSanta Cruz 9 h 09 minPorto 9 h 12 min
Housing & costs
Official · INE Portugal, EurostatSanta Cruz is in the municipality of Chaves. Rents, prices and crime are published for each municipality as a whole, not for single towns.
Climate today
Town-level · ERA5-Land reanalysis 1991-2020Month by month
Town-level · ERA5-Land reanalysis 1991-2020August is the warmest month (28°C average high) and January the coolest (10°C). October is the wettest (117 mm) and July the driest (21 mm).
- JanuaryAir 10°11 rain daysCrowds: Low
- FebruaryAir 12°9 rain daysCrowds: Low
- MarchAir 15°10 rain daysCrowds: Low
- AprilAir 17°12 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- MayAir 20°12 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- JuneAir 25°6 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- JulyAir 28°4 rain daysCrowds: High
- AugustAir 28°4 rain daysCrowds: Peak
- SeptemberAir 24°7 rain daysCrowds: High
- OctoberAir 19°11 rain daysCrowds: Medium
- NovemberAir 13°12 rain daysCrowds: Low
- DecemberAir 10°11 rain daysCrowds: Low
Crowd levels are for Norte as a whole: nights booked through online platforms in 2025, against the region's busiest month (Eurostat).
Is it getting hotter?
Town-level · ERA5-Land reanalysisDays above 35°C per year
Both measured periods come from the same reanalysis as the climate section. The bar scale runs to 10 days.
Healthcare & getting around
Town-level · straight-line distancesWithin 1.2 km of the centre
- Grocery stores4
- Pharmacies1
- Doctors & clinics3
30 min by car
- Hospitals2
- Sea beaches0
- People32,015
60 min by car
- Towns over 10,0004
- Hospitals9
- Sea beaches0
- People116,848
- Nearest train stationNone within 60 km
- Nearest bus stationAuto Viação do Tâmega1.6 km
- Nearest hospitalUnidade Hospitalar de Chaves - Unidade Local de Saúde de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro2.0 km · 4 min by car
- Nearest airport with scheduled flightsVila Real Airport (VRL)58 km · 50 min by car
Distances are straight lines from the town centre. Drive times are by road in free-flowing traffic (OSRM on OpenStreetMap roads); people counts add up the towns reached.
Daily life
Town-level · Overture Maps places, 2026-10-21.0Within 1.2 km of the centre
- 4Grocery stores & supermarketsPortugal median: 3
- 1PharmaciesPortugal median: 1
- 2CafésPortugal median: 4
- 6RestaurantsPortugal median: 9
- 0BakeriesPortugal median: 2
- 3Gyms & fitness studiosPortugal median: 1
- 1SchoolsPortugal median: 2
- 3Doctors & clinicsPortugal median: 1
Nature & surroundings
Town-level · WorldCover, Copernicus DEM, Natura 2000, OpenStreetMapPeople & community
Modelled · EU Census 2021 gridUnder 1515 to 6465 and over
International residents
| Share of residents | Santa Cruz | Median town in Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Born in another EU country | 3.6% | 1.6% |
| Born outside the EU | 6.5% | 5.5% |
| Moved here from abroad in the past year | 1.7% | 1.1% |
10.1% of residents were born abroad, against 7.1% in the median town in Portugal (2021 census). From the 1 km census grid cells within 1.5 km of the centre (6,382 residents counted).
Environment & natural hazards
- EarthquakesNone since 1900No earthquakes of magnitude 5 or larger recorded within 100 km since 1900.Town-level · USGS earthquake catalog
- Air quality6.1 µg/m³Average fine particles (PM2.5) at the centre in 2023. The WHO guideline for the yearly average is 5 µg/m³.Modelled · EEA
- Wildfire6 of 10 yearsYears with a fire of 30 ha or more within 10 km of the centre, 2016-2025; 16,202 ha burnt by those fires.Town-level · EFFIS
Places like Santa Cruz
Matched on climate, amenities and access
- ManteigasCentro81% match
- ValpaçosNorte80% match
- BoticasNorte77% match
- LorigaCentro76% match
- São RomãoCentro75% match
Measures used: Average daily high (January), Average daily high (July), Days above 35°C (recent), Days with rain (year), Places within a 15-minute walk (grocery), Places within a 15-minute walk (cafe) and Nearest airport with scheduled flights. A match of 100% would mean the same values on every one.
Common questions about Santa Cruz
What is the weather like in Santa Cruz through the year?
January averages a high of 10°C and a low of 3°C; July averages 28°C and 16°C. There are about 110 days with rain a year. These are averages for 1991-2020.
How many very hot days does Santa Cruz get?
Santa Cruz averaged 6.2 days a year above 35°C in 2016-2025, against 1.6 a year in 1991-2000.
Does it freeze in Santa Cruz?
Santa Cruz averaged 9 frost days a year (below 0°C) in 2016-2025.
What is within walking distance of the centre of Santa Cruz?
Within 1.2 km of the centre there are 4 grocery stores, 1 pharmacies, 3 doctors and clinics and 2 cafés. In a straight line, the nearest bus station is 1.6 km away and the nearest hospital is 2.0 km away.
What is the nearest airport to Santa Cruz?
Vila Real Airport (VRL), 58 km from the centre in a straight line.
How much daylight does Santa Cruz get in winter?
9 h 09 min on 21 December, against 15 h 13 min on 21 June.
Sources & methodology
Every value comes from one of the open datasets below and is computed the same way for every town. Each section names how precise its values are: town-level, modelled or regional. Distances are straight lines from the town centre, and amenities are counted within 1.2 km of it. Read the full methodology.
"Who Santa Cruz suits" lines come from fixed rules applied to every town in the same way. A rule only uses values that are modelled or better, and each line shows the numbers that triggered it. How the rules work.
| Dataset | Used for | Version | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (30 m elevation) | Elevation | glo30_s120 | Copernicus DEM licence (free for any use, with attribution) |
| PM2.5, European air quality data (EEA, interpolated 1 km map) | Air quality | pm25_2023 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Burnt areas (European Forest Fire Information System, EFFIS) | Wildfires | 2016-2025 | CC BY 4.0 |
| ERA5-Land reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Data Store) | Climate | points_1991-2025 | CC BY 4.0 |
| ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m land cover) | Land cover | v200_2021 | CC BY 4.0 |
| EU Census 2021 population grid (Eurostat) | Census grid | V3 | Free reuse with acknowledgement (European Commission reuse policy) |
| Nights spent in short-stay accommodation booked through online platforms (Eurostat tour_ce_omn12) | Crowds | 2026-11-01 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Price level indices (Eurostat prc_ppp_ind) | Price level | 2026-11-01 | CC BY 4.0 |
| GeoNames | Place names and populations | 2026-10-31 | CC BY 4.0 |
| INE Portugal (local statistics on rents, house prices, crime and population) | Rents, house prices, crime and population | 2026-11-01 | CC BY 4.0 |
| Natura 2000 protected sites (EEA, end 2024) | Protected areas | end2024 | CC BY 4.0 |
| OpenStreetMap (Geofabrik extracts) | Stations, hospitals, beaches, coastline | 2026-10-31 | ODbL 1.0 |
| OurAirports | Airports | 2026-10-31 | Public domain |
| Overture Maps places | Amenities | 2026-10-21.0 | CDLA-Permissive-2.0 |
| TEMIS UV index climatology (KNMI / ESA) | UV index | v2.0_clim_2004-2020 | Free use with credit; TEMIS asks to be told how the data is used |
| USGS earthquake catalog (ComCat) | Earthquakes | 2026-10-31 | Public domain |