Live forecast for Patos Beach (Nigran (Vigo), Pontevedra). Water temperature, wave height, wind, beach index 1-10 and best time to swim. Coordinates 42.1500, -8.8200.
Patos is the leading surf beach of the Rias Baixas. Open to the Atlantic, it features steady waves and a semi-unspoilt setting in Vigo ria. The Cies islands are visible offshore.
Orientation: west, approximate length 1300 m, sand type: golden sand. No current Blue Flag award. Services: surf schools, a seasonal beach bar, showers, toilets and board rental. Access: Vitrasa bus from Vigo and Baiona. Free parking.
The WhatAWeather beach index combines six meteorological variables into a 0-10 score: air temperature (best above 22 °C), sea surface temperature from the Open-Meteo Marine model (best above 20 °C), wind speed (best below 20 km/h), significant wave height (best below 0.8 m), cloud cover (best below 30 %) and accumulated rainfall (best below 0.5 mm). A value of 8-10 means perfect, 6-7 good, 4-5 acceptable and below 4 we advise against swimming.
For the official microbiological status of Spanish bathing waters consult the NAYADE system run by the Spanish Ministry of Health. WhatAWeather displays an informational jellyfish warning when sea temperature exceeds 23 °C and the wind blows from the east (levante), a situation statistically correlated with sightings in the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar. This is an orientation indicator and does not replace official Red Cross or city council bulletins.
The sea is at its warmest in October, averaging 18.8 °C, and at its coldest in February, at 13.6 °C. On land the month with the highest daily maxima is July, which averages 23.9 °C.
The sea never reaches 20 °C in any month of the year: even at the height of summer the first plunge takes your breath away, and anyone staying in for long tends to wear a wetsuit. The gap between air and sea temperature is the figure that misleads most: in July the air reaches 23.9 °C against 17.1 °C in the water. Northwesterly groundswell, however, sets up currents at either end of the beach, so a quiet swim depends more on the state of the sea than on the thermometer.
In July and August the mean wave height is around 1.4 m, a shorebreak present almost daily, more for a board than for an inflatable. In winter the mean climbs to 2.8 m, with the annual peak in March at 3.2 m. The prevailing summer wind comes from the northwest, and the windiest month is March, when daily maximum gusts average 22 km/h.
July averages 13.2 hours of effective sunshine a day and 4.9 rain days across the month. The driest month of the year is August, with 4.7 rain days, and the wettest December, with 15.7; over the year as a whole it rains on about 135 days.
| Month | Max. air | Min. air | Sea | Wave | Max. gust | Rain days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 13.2 | 7.4 | 13.9 | 2.80 | 21 | 13.6 |
| February | 14.3 | 8.1 | 13.6 | 2.80 | 21 | 12.4 |
| March | 15.1 | 8.8 | 14.1 | 3.20 | 22 | 13.6 |
| April | 17.1 | 10.5 | 15.7 | 2.10 | 20 | 12.7 |
| May | 19.5 | 12.9 | 15.8 | 1.60 | 20 | 11.2 |
| June | 21.1 | 15.2 | 18.0 | 1.40 | 18 | 8.9 |
| July | 23.9 | 17.1 | 17.1 | 1.30 | 19 | 4.9 |
| August | 23.9 | 17.1 | 16.6 | 1.50 | 18 | 4.7 |
| September | 22.4 | 15.7 | 16.6 | 1.70 | 17 | 7.1 |
| October | 19.9 | 13.9 | 18.8 | 2.50 | 20 | 15.1 |
| November | 16.2 | 10.9 | 16.7 | 2.70 | 21 | 14.9 |
| December | 14.5 | 9.2 | 14.8 | 2.70 | 21 | 15.7 |
These are climatological means, not a forecast: they describe what has happened on average over the past decade, and any single day can depart a long way from them. The sea column holds the mean of the daily maximum sea-surface temperature, and the wave column the mean of the day's highest significant wave height. The beach index above, by contrast, is computed from today's forecast, combining air and sea temperature, waves, wind, cloud and rain — which is why it can contradict the table on any given day.
