Average weather, temperature, rainfall, sunshine hours
The climate of Krakow is
moderately continental, characterized by cold winters, with temperatures often below freezing (0 °C or 32 °F), and mild or pleasantly warm summers.
Krakow is the second largest city in Poland, and it is located in the south of the country, 200 meters (650 feet) above sea level, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is crossed by the Vistula River, which then turns north, passes through Warsaw and then flows into the sea near Gdansk.
Winter is cold and gray. Snowfalls are frequent, but generally not abundant.
Sometimes, cold waves from Siberia can occur, and the temperatures can drop to -20 °C (-4 °F) or below. It dropped to -27 °C (-16.5 °F) in February 1985, to -30 °C (-22 °F) in January 1987, to -25 °C (-13) in December 1996, to -23 °C (-9.5 °F) in February 2012, and to -24 °C (-11 °F) in January 2017.
In
summer, the temperatures are pleasant and suitable for outdoor activities, although sometimes there can be rains and thunderstorms.
Every now and then (and more often in recent years due to global warming), there can be short heat waves, with maximum temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F). The temperature reached 37 °C (98.5 °F) in August 2013 and 36 °C (97 °F) in August 2015.
The
average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of -1.9 °C (28 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 19 °C (66 °F). Here are the average temperatures.
Krakow - Average temperatures| Month | Min (°C) | Max (°C) | Mean (°C) | Min (°F) | Max (°F) | Mean (°F) |
|---|
| January | -5 | 1 | -2 | 23 | 34 | 28,5 |
|---|
| February | -4 | 2 | -0,8 | 25 | 36 | 30,6 |
|---|
| March | 1 | 8 | 4 | 33 | 46 | 39,3 |
|---|
| April | 4 | 14 | 9 | 39 | 57 | 48,1 |
|---|
| May | 9 | 19 | 14,1 | 48 | 67 | 57,4 |
|---|
| June | 12 | 22 | 16,9 | 53 | 71 | 62,4 |
|---|
| July | 14 | 24 | 19 | 57 | 76 | 66,1 |
|---|
| August | 13 | 24 | 18,4 | 56 | 75 | 65,2 |
|---|
| September | 9 | 18 | 13,8 | 49 | 65 | 56,9 |
|---|
| October | 5 | 14 | 9,2 | 41 | 56 | 48,6 |
|---|
| November | 0 | 6 | 3,4 | 33 | 44 | 38,1 |
|---|
| December | -4 | 2 | -0,9 | 26 | 35 | 30,4 |
|---|
| Year | 4,5 | 12,9 | 8,7 | 40,2 | 55,3 | 47,5 |
|---|
amounts to 670 millimeters (26.4 inches) per year: so, it is at an intermediate level. It ranges from 35 mm (1.4 in) in the driest month (February) to 90 mm (3.5 in) in the wettest (June). Here is the average precipitation.
Krakow - Average precipitation| Month | Millimeters | Inches | Days |
|---|
| January | 40 | 1,6 | 18 |
|---|
| February | 35 | 1,4 | 17 |
|---|
| March | 40 | 1,6 | 15 |
|---|
| April | 45 | 1,8 | 15 |
|---|
| May | 80 | 3,1 | 15 |
|---|
| June | 90 | 3,5 | 16 |
|---|
| July | 85 | 3,3 | 14 |
|---|
| August | 75 | 3 | 13 |
|---|
| September | 60 | 2,4 | 13 |
|---|
| October | 40 | 1,6 | 13 |
|---|
| November | 40 | 1,6 | 17 |
|---|
| December | 40 | 1,6 | 20 |
|---|
| Year | 670 | 26,4 | 186 |
|---|
On average, there are around 1,400
sunshine hours per year. So, the sun doesn't shine often. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.
Krakow - Sunshine hours| Month | Average | Total |
|---|
January | 1,5 | 40 | February | 2 | 55 | March | 3 | 90 | April | 4,5 | 135 | May | 6 | 180 | June | 6,5 | 190 | July | 6,5 | 205 | August | 6 | 190 | September | 4,5 | 130 | October | 3,5 | 105 | November | 1,5 | 50 | December | 1 | 30 | Year | 3,8 | 1395 |
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Best Time
The
best time to visit Krakow runs from mid-May to mid-September, since it is the warmest and sunniest period of the year. Sometimes, it can be hot in July and August, while in other circumstances, nights can be cool or even a little cold even in these months, so it can be useful to bring a sweatshirt or sweater and a light jacket for the evening.