the hot goddess

Silver Coast Seasons: Weathering It All in Midlife

A common question about life on Portugal’s Silver Coast is, “What’s the weather like there?” Here’s a peek in pictures of what days can be like in every season here.

This is the place for folks who prefer a comfortable temperate climate over tropical heat. Never too hot (80+F° on the hottest summer/early fall day); never too cold (40+F° in winter). No snow or ice. Frequently a mix of sun and clouds, with times of morning fog, wind, prevalent winter rain, and glorious sunsets year-round. The ocean here is not warm, but it is magnificent.

Where is the Silver Coast?

As far as I can tell, there are no universally agreed on boundaries for the Costa de Prata. I’m told that the area was dubbed “Silver Coast” by marketers, and Portuguese native locals don’t typically use the moniker.

Source: beportugal.com

“The boundaries for the coastline are subject to some debate, but we can confirm that the Silver Coast stretches over 150km north of Lisbon, just missing Porto. And the area isn’t isolated to the coast but extends inland too. The Silver Coast incorporates cities like surf town Nazaré, historic towns like Tomar and Coimbra, and the mountain regions of Serra da Estrela.”

~ Beportugal.com

Weather in the inland cities of the “Silver Coast” is different from what you’ll find in areas like my coastal town overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It can be difficult to know what clothing to pack for a move here, and what to wear on any given day when going out as a Silver Coaster without a car. Light layers, a snug cap/hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, and a packable hooded windbreaker thrown in my day bag have become my staples during most seasons here. I no longer bother with carrying just-in-case foldable umbrellas because they are useless against the wind and in-your-face mist you can encounter here. The weather can change from minute to minute on the coast and can vary greatly from conditions less than five kilometers inland.

Silver Coast
Lisbon
The Algarve
The Alentejo
August 15 forecasts around Portugal

Whatever the weather, every season here on the Silver Coast is beautiful. Enjoy…

Summer/Verão

Autumn/Outono

It doesn’t get better than this.

Winter/Inverno

Yeah, then there’s this. Olá, December. Two weeks of chilly, rainy days in a row can get old, but at least it’s usually not steady rain. Lisbon and the Algarve also got rain during this period.
Incoming!
Ready for any kind of weather in Costa Nova near Aveiro.
Yep, this is winter. A gorgeous January day on the beach by my townhouse.
They don’t call it Silver for nothin’. Boa tarde, December.
Also December. Winter brings the sunset right to my window. Boa noite.

Spring/Primavera

Misty morning rainbows greet me in bed.
Fog rolling in
Surfers’ paradise. Wetsuits are a must.
End-of-April stroll to the beach wearing a light jacket.
Springtime sunset from my third-floor studio balcony. Soon, I will have to walk outside to the pool or grass to be able to see the sunset.
Poor me.

Foggy Flashback

Marine microclimates along Portugal’s coast make for great fog-watching outside of the Silver Coast too. My first visit to Portugal was in 2019 to the fishing village of Sesimbra, 30 minutes south of Lisbon. I lived in Sesimbra for a month during October. I was amazed by the dense fog, which was the thickest I’d ever seen.

Sesimbra in October 2019
View from my window in Sesimbra
Same view later
Feathered friends in foggy flight.

OK, now that I’ve gotten alliteration out of the way, truth is I can’t stand seagulls (sorry, Jonathan Livingston), and these were flying too close to me on the balcony for comfort. Freaky feathered flight in fucking fog.
Thank you, Alfred Hitchcock and your damn The Birds movie.
#scarredforlife
A recent foggy morning here, as viewed from my village where the sky was blue and sun shone brightly. This is looking back up to the hills where I live, shrouded by resting clouds. By the time I finished my errands, the fog had burned off for the day. I’ve yet to experience here the white-out fog I witnessed in Sesimbra, where I could not see anything but white outside my windows.

If you are considering a move to the Silver Coast or elsewhere in Portugal, check out the Midlife Expat Learning page for helpful information about the immigration process and life as an expat.

Thank you for reading! ❤️ May your weekend find you enjoying the weather wherever you are. (And fearless in the face of seagulls and other stuff you might not be that crazy about.)

All images are my own.

The Hot Goddess

Instagram: retired_rewired_inspired

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23 comments

  2. Great photos that capture each of the seasons. I went to Baleal/Peniche a couple of weeks ago and it’s funny how the temperature changes 10 degrees Celsius just driving an hour from Lisbon.

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  8. I have never been to Aveiro it’s on our places to visit. I think it is colder up there in the winter than down South, we are on the same west coast but near Lagos. Do you have a lot of sea mist in July / August?

    Love the pictures showing weather in the different seasons.

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  11. I always look forward to reading your posts. The pictures are gorgeous. Looks like you have found the perfect spot for you. I hope to someday make it to Portugal to visit your new country. Thanks for sharing with us.

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    • Thank you so much, Audra! ❤️ I’m happy you are enjoying reading THG, and I appreciate your kind comments. I do believe I’ve found the spot of my dreams. I hope you see for yourself the magic of Portugal too.

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