Camino de Invierno weather: warnings stage by stage, month by month

Camino de Invierno, Ponferrada to Santiago, in 12 stages. Warnings 2019–2025; updated 27 October 2026.

The Camino de Invierno leaves the Camino Francés at Ponferrada and follows the Sil valley through Valdeorras and the Ribeira Sacra to Santiago. By warnings it's one of the calmest pilgrim routes, with far fewer than the Francés. This is what the official warnings say, stage by stage and month by month.

April

the month with the fewest warnings

0.7 warning days walking the whole route

January

the month with the most warnings

2.0 warning days in 12 stages

warning zones

in 5 provinces

red days on some stage

2019 to 2025

It's twelve stages between El Bierzo and Galicia: five warning zones, all of them below Spain's typical zone. Here we count, for each stage, the warning days in the zones it crosses, and add them up month by month.

Spring is the best time: March and April are the calmest months. The busiest are January, with wind and rain, and June, with storms.

In July and August heat is the top reason for a warning, especially in El Bierzo and the Sil and Lemos valleys. The route's only red days in the last eight years were 26 and 27 January 2026, for rain and wind.

The Camino de Invierno's warning zones

AEMET doesn't warn by village but by zone. The Camino de Invierno crosses 5 warning zones, each with its own thresholds and warnings: on the same day one section can have a warning and the next none.

Fewer warnings than averageClose to averageMore warnings than average

Average warning days a year in each zone, 2019–2025, against the median of Spain's zones (54 days). Approximate route through the stages. Tap a zone to go to its page.

Walking the whole route, month by month

How many warning days you'd get, on average, walking one stage a day from Ponferrada to Santiago in each month. Tap a month to see it stage by stage.

yelloworangered

2.0Jan 0.9Feb 0.8Mar 0.7Apr 1.3May 1.9Jun 1.5Jul 1.6Aug 1.3Sep 1.7Oct 1.3Nov 1.6Dec

Stage-days with a warning, average 2019–2025, over 12 stages; the colour is the day's highest level in the stage's zones.

Stage by stage, month by month

Share of days with some warning in each stage's zones, 2019–2025. The darker, the more warnings.

Stage	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
1. Ponferrada – Borrenes	18	6	3	2	7	21	18	20	8	4	4	8
2. Borrenes – O Barco de Valdeorras	20	7	4	3	8	22	18	20	10	7	5	11
3. O Barco de Valdeorras – A Rúa	7	2	3	1	7	16	15	17	9	7	3	6
4. A Rúa – Quiroga	12	5	5	4	11	20	17	18	11	10	5	8
5. Quiroga – A Pobra do Brollón	12	5	5	4	11	17	14	16	10	10	5	7
6. A Pobra do Brollón – Monforte de Lemos	12	5	5	4	11	17	14	16	10	10	5	7
7. Monforte de Lemos – Chantada	12	5	5	4	11	17	14	16	10	10	5	7
8. Chantada – Rodeiro	26	12	12	9	17	18	15	17	15	25	21	21
9. Rodeiro – Lalín	21	10	11	9	15	10	5	5	11	25	21	21
10. Lalín – Silleda	21	10	11	9	15	10	5	5	11	25	21	21
11. Silleda – Ponte Ulla	22	13	12	11	15	12	8	7	14	26	22	24
12. Ponte Ulla – Santiago de Compostela	15	11	11	7	7	10	7	6	11	17	15	16

The Camino de Invierno section by section

El Bierzo: Ponferrada – O Barco de Valdeorras

The first stages, from Ponferrada to O Barco, have storms and rain as the top reasons for a warning, with heat behind them. June and August are the busiest months; March and April the calmest.

Most common: storms, rain and heat. Most warnings in June and August; fewest in April and March.

Valdeorras and Ribeira Sacra: O Barco de Valdeorras – Chantada

Along the Sil valley and Monforte de Lemos is the calmest section of the route. What there is is rain and storms, and in summer, heat warnings.

Most common: rain, storms and heat. Most warnings in June and August; fewest in April and March.

Deza and Ulla: Chantada – Santiago de Compostela

From Chantada to Santiago the calendar changes: October and January are the busiest months, with rain and wind, and July and August the calmest.

Most common: rain, wind and storms. Most warnings in October and January; fewest in August and July.

The worst days on the Camino de Invierno

The days since 2018 with orange or red on the most stages at once.

orange21 December 2019: orange warning on 12 of 12 stages, for wind · the episode
orange1 March 2020: orange warning on 11 of 12 stages, for rain and wind · the episode
orange2 March 2020: orange warning on 11 of 12 stages, for rain and wind · the episode
orange9 October 2024: orange warning on 11 of 12 stages, for rain and wind · the episode
orange13 July 2022: orange warning on 10 of 12 stages, for heat · the episode
orange23 January 2026: orange warning on 10 of 12 stages, for snow · the episode
orange1 February 2019: orange warning on 9 of 12 stages, for wind · the episode
orange21 January 2021: orange warning on 9 of 12 stages, for rain and wind · the episode

When a warning is issued on the Camino de Invierno

Thresholds change from zone to zone. These are the yellow ones in the Camino de Invierno's zones:

Zone	Heat	Cold	Wind	Rain 1 h	Snow 24 h
Bierzo de León	36 °C	−6 °C	70 km/h	15 mm	2 cm
Valdeorras	36 °C	−4 °C	70 km/h	15 mm	2 cm
Sur de Lugo	36 °C	−4 °C	70 km/h	15 mm	2 cm
Interior de Pontevedra	36 °C	−4 °C	70 km/h	15 mm	2 cm
Interior de A Coruña	34 °C	−4 °C	70 km/h	15 mm	2 cm

Yellow thresholds from AEMET's warning plan. Orange and red need more. Storms have no numeric threshold.

Tips for the Camino de Invierno

Check AEMET's forecast the evening before each stage, and the zone's warnings on the Climaviso map.
In summer, start early on the Bierzo and Sil stages: heat is the top reason for a warning in July and August.
In June, watch for storms: it's one of the route's busiest months for warnings.
In winter carry a waterproof and windproof layer, especially on the last stages into Santiago.
A warning covers the whole zone: it doesn't mean it will happen on your stage, but it does mean you should keep an eye out.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best month to walk the Camino de Invierno?

By warnings, April: on average, 0.7 warning days if you walk the 12 stages that month. Then March and February. The month with the most warnings is January, with 2.0 days.

Which section of the Camino de Invierno gets the most rain warnings?

Deza and Ulla: on average, a rain warning on 10% of days, mostly in October, November and December.

Does the Camino de Invierno get hot enough for warnings in summer?

In July and August, the section with the most heat warnings is El Bierzo: a heat warning on 13% of days, on average.

Can it snow on the Camino de Invierno?

Yes, above all on the mountain sections: snow warnings bunch up in the Bierzo de León zones, in January, February and December. There, yellow needs 2 cm in 24 hours.

What should I do if there's a warning on my stage?

A yellow warning calls for attention, not cancelling: check the forecast, set off early if it's for heat and have a plan B for storms or snow on a pass. With orange or red, follow Civil Protection's and the hostels' advice, and consider shortening or changing the stage.

This is not a forecast: it counts the warnings AEMET issued on those dates in past years. A warning is a forecast that a threshold will be crossed in the zone, not damage.