A method of identifying sea-breeze fronts by remote sensing (visible and infrared data from the GOES-8 satellite) was applied to north-eastern Brazil. The aim of the study was to estimate the frequency of observed sea-breeze fronts and the average distance they penetrate inland at 1800 UTC. During the dry season (between September and December) in 2000, the highest frequency of sea-breeze fronts was recorded on the northern fringe of the study area. The sea-breeze fronts penetrated furthest inland between September and November, with a maximum distance from the coast at Ceará of 100 km.