Climate - Rimini (Italy)

In Rimini, and in the neighboring towns of the Adriatic Coast, such as Riccione and Cattolica, the climate is semi-continental. Winters are quite cold, while summers are hot and sunny, a little stuffy but tempered by the breeze.
The city is located outside of the Po Valley and on the coast, but enough to the north to be affected, during cold periods, by the Bora, a cold wind that blows in gusts from the plains of Eastern Europe, especially in the cold half of the year.
The city, however, is also subject to the Sirocco, or more precisely to the Garbino, a mild or hot southwest wind that descends from the mountains, but that may come originally from Africa.
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is 4.5 °C (40 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is 24 °C (75 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation is moderate, in fact, it amounts to 645 millimeters (25.5 inches) per year; the rains are well distributed over the seasons, even though there is a maximum in autumn. However, summer is the season in which the rains are rarest; in this season, and in late spring, they can occur in the form of thunderstorms.
Here is the average precipitation.

Winter, from December to February, is cold enough, although it is not as cold as in the Po Valley. However, the wind can increase the feeling of cold, especially when the Bora blows.
In periods of high pressure, fog can form.
There is a moderate amount of rainy days, although the winter is the least rainy season.
When the south wind blows, the temperature becomes milder, and in the daytime, it can reach and sometimes exceed 15 °C (59 °F).
Snowfalls in Rimini are quite common, in the sense that you can see some flakes in most years, however, they are rarer than in the interior of Romagna, and are generally not abundant. In any case, there can be cold spells, with temperatures around 0 °C (32 °F) even during the day, a cold wind blowing from the sea, and short snowfalls, even in the form of showers or thunderstorms.
Occasionally, however, there may be a heavy snowfall, or a period in which it often snows. In February 2012, it snowed for ten days, and 75 centimeters (29.5 inches) of snow fell. Previously, snow depth had reached 45 cm (17.5 in) in February 1956, 55 cm (21.5 in) in January 1963, 75 cm (29.5 in) in January 1967, 50 cm (19.5 in) in January 1985, and 45 cm (17.5 in) in February 1991. But in the historic month of February 1929 (the year of the "nevone" or big snow), the snow had reached 1 meter 20 cm (4 feet) in height. These data make Rimini the snowiest of the coastal Italian towns.
Frosts at night are quite common, but usually not remarkable, except during the periods of most intense cold, when the temperature can drop to -10 °C (14 °F) or even below. At Miramare airport, the temperature dropped to -14 °C (7 °F) in February 1956, -11.5 °C (11.5 °F) in January 1963, to -12.5 °C (9.5 °F) in December 1963, to -11 °C (12 °F) in January 1966, to -13.5 °C (7.5 °F) in January 1967, to -10 °C (14 °F) in January 1968, to -12 °C (10.5 °F) in January 1979, to -17 °C (1.5 °F) in January 1985 (record), to -13 °C (8.5 °F) in February 1991, to -10 °C (14 °F) in December 1996, to -12 °C (10.5 °F) in December 2009, and to -13 °C (8.5 °F) in December 2010.

Spring in Rimini is a quite unstable season, especially at the beginning, ie in March and in the first half of April, when the first mild days alternate with the return of the cold, brought by the Bora. However, as the weeks pass, the weather becomes nicer, especially from mid-April to late May, when there are many sunny days, with mild or pleasantly warm temperatures during the day.
However, Atlantic disturbances, able to bring rainfall, are quite frequent.

Summer, from June to August, is hot and humid, and generally sunny. During the day, sea breezes usually make the heat bearable, while nights are sultry because of the humidity coming from the sea.
The hottest periods occur when the south wind blows: in these cases, the tempering effect of the sea disappears and the temperature can reach 35/37 °C (95/99 °F). The heat record, 39 °C (102 °F), was set in August 2000. In addition to these, we can recall the 38 °C (100.5 °F) that occurred in the months of August 1988, 1994 and 2017.
Sometimes, Atlantic disturbances able to bring cool and rainy weather can affect this area in summer as well, perhaps accompanied by gusts of Bora, especially in June and late August, or thunderstorms can break out in the afternoon and evening, but for long periods, the weather is hot and sunny.

Autumn offers several nice days in September and sometimes in early October, and then quickly becomes gray and rainy enough. The first cold days usually occur in November. Overall, autumn is the wettest season of the year.



Rimini does not get a lot of sun from mid-October to February, when sunny days are quite rare. However, the sun shines quite often in spring, and it is very common in summer, except for the few rainy days or when sunny days are interrupted by thunderstorms in the afternoon. On average, there are around 2,000 hours of sunshine per year. Here is the average of the hours of sunshine per day.

The sea in Rimini is warm enough for swimming from July to September, while in June it is still a bit cool. Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

The best time to go to Rimini and the Adriatic coast for beach holidays, is the summer, from June to August, with a preference for July and August, since they are the hottest and sunniest months of the year, and when the sea is warmest as well.