Climate - Padua (Italy)

Padua: Temperatures - Precipitation - Sunshine hours - Best time


The climate of Padua is moderately continental, with cold, damp winters and hot, muggy summers.
The city is located in the Venetian plain, 20 km (12 mi) from the Venice lagoon. The climate is similar to that of the Po valley, with respect to which it is a bit milder in winter, but also a little more windy, in fact it is exposed to both the bora (a cold, dry wind from the north-east) and the sirocco (mild south-east wind).
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 3.1 °C (37 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 24.5 °C (76 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Winter, from December to February, is cold, damp and gray. Temperatures often remain around freezing (0 °C or 32 °F) also in the daytime, especially in December and January, and the sky remains overcast for long periods.
Typically, by the second half of February, the temperature tends to increase, and highs exceed quite often 10 °C (50 °F).
Fog, which was once very common, has become rarer, and is formed only in periods with Atlantic high pressure.
Snow in Padua is rare, as is normal in the Veneto plains, because with the cold wind from the north-east (when it snows in Emilia), the weather is generally dry, while with the sirocco (when it snows in Milan), the wind comes directly from the sea, the temperature exceeds freezing and therefore it rains. Sometimes, however, it can snow. Generally, the snow does not exceed 5/10 cm (2/4 in), although 40 cm (15.5 in) of snow fell in January 1985, about 30 cm (12 in) in January 1987 and in December 2009, and 15 cm (6 in) in February 2013.
Every now and then, cold air masses from Eastern Europe can bring quite intense frosts, though the temperature rarely drops below -10 °C (14 °F). However, the temperature reached -15.5 °C (4 °F) in February 1956 and -19 °C (-2 °F) in January 1985 (record).

Summer, from June to August, is hot and muggy, and generally sunny. The heat is felt because of high humidity, although a bit of breeze comes from the sea in the afternoon.
Sometimes, an Atlantic front, able to bring cool and rainy weather, can affect this area even in summer; more often, on sunny days, thunderstorms can erupt in the afternoon or evening.
During heat waves, which are becoming increasingly more frequent, the temperature can reach or exceed 35 °C (95 °F). The highest recorded temperature, 40 °C (104 F), was recorded in August 2003. On other occasions, the temperature has reached 37/38 °C (98/100 °F).



Precipitation amounts to 865 millimeters (34.1 inches) per year: so, it is at an intermediate level. It ranges from 45 mm (1.8 in) in the driest month (February) to 95 mm (3.7 in) in the wettest (October). Here is the average precipitation.

On average, there are around 1,950 sunshine hours per year. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

Best Time

The best period to visit Padua is that of spring and early summer, and in particular, from mid-April to mid-June. September, too, is a good month. However, you have to take into account some rainy days in both periods.
Summer can be hot, although some days can be acceptable, especially in June. In summer, and sometimes in May, sudden thunderstorms in the afternoon or evening must be put into account.