Climate in East Frisian Islands (Lower Saxony)

The climate of the East Frisian Islands is sub-oceanic, humid and rainy, influenced by currents from the Atlantic and the North Sea, with cold, gray winters and mild or pleasantly warm summers.
The East Frisian Islands are located a short distance from the north-west coast of Germany, in the North Sea, in the state of Lower Saxony, and belong to the historical region of Friesland, which also includes a western part belonging to the Netherlands and a north-eastern part divided between Germany and Denmark (see Sylt).
The main islands are Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeoog, Spiekeroog and Wangerooge. The most populous are Norderney and Borkum.
The stretch of sea between the islands and the coast, a tidal mudflat, is called Wadden Sea, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
To the east there is also a national park, the Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park.



The wind blows frequently, and can be intense, especially from November to March. Not surprisingly, windsurfing and kitesurfing are practiced here.

Winter, from December to February, is not very cold for the latitude, but is often humid, windy and rainy. There may be relatively mild periods, when Atlantic currents prevail, and other colder periods, when the temperature drops below freezing and it can snow. Because of the influence of the sea, temperatures drop below freezing less often than in the rest of Germany. On the coldest days of the year, the temperature typically reaches -7 °C (19.5 °F).
Sometimes, however, there can be cold spells, in which the temperature can drop as low as -10 °C (14 °F) or even below. In fact, Scandinavian high pressure systems can reverse the normal circulation and bring very cold periods, which in the past were more frequent.
In Norderney, the coldest record is -19.4 °C (-2.9), set in February 1929, however, in the post-war period the record is -15.5 °C (4.1 °F), set in January 1947, while after 2000, the temperature dropped to -12.8 °C (9 °F) in February 2012.

Even in spring, until April or the first half of May, there is often cold and unstable weather.

In summer, from June to August the weather is variable, with fairly frequent rains, perhaps alternating with bright spells. There can be cool days, with highs of 15/17 °C and a moderate or strong wind from the sea. However, there are also mild or pleasantly warm periods.
At times, warm periods can occur, generally of short duration, which in recent years are becoming more frequent due to global warming, and in which the temperature can exceed 25 °C (77 °F). On the hottest days of the year, the temperature typically reaches 30/31 °C (86/88 °F). The heat record in Norderney is 35.4 °C (95.7 °F), set in July 2019.

The climate data of the different islands are very similar. Let's take for example that of Norderney. Here, the average temperature of the coldest month (January) is 2.9 °C (37.2 °F), that of the warmest month (August) is 18.2 °C (64.8 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 750 mm (29.5 in) per year: it is therefore at an intermediate level. Rainfall is heavier in summer but more frequent in autumn, while spring is the least rainy season. Here is the average precipitation.

On average, there are around 1,730 hours of sunshine per year. Here is the average number of sunshine hours per day.

The sea temperature fluctuates between 4 °C (39 °F) in February and 18.5 °C (65 °F) in August. Therefore, the sea never becomes warm enough to swim in (but tourists from northern Europe do swim). Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

The best time to visit the East Frisian Islands runs from June to August, since it is the warmest and sunniest period of the year. Sometimes, it can get hot in July and August, while in other circumstances, nights can be cool even in these months, so it can be useful to bring a sweatshirt or sweater and a light jacket.