Climate - Lausanne (Switzerland)
Average weather, temperature, rainfall, sunshine hours
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Climate chart - Lausanne (Switzerland)
The climate of Lausanne is moderately continental, with cold winters and warm summers.
The city is located in the west of Switzerland, in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, at an altitude of about 500 meters or 1,650 feet (the shores of the lake are at 380 meters or 1,250 feet), in an area with a microclimate somewhat milder than in other cities in Switzerland.
The winter is cold and gray. There may be relatively mild periods, when Atlantic currents prevail, and other colder periods, when the temperature drops below freezing. On average, 35 cm (14 in) of snow fall per year: outside the Canton of Ticino, we are at the lowest levels of Switzerland.
Sometimes, there can be cold spells, in which there is an freezing wind, the Bise, which blows from the plains of Eastern Europe. In Lausanne, the temperature rarely drops below -10 °C (14 °F), for example, in the last few decades, it has dropped to -13 °C (8.5 °F) in February 2012, and -10.5 °C (13 °F) in February 2018.
In summer, the temperatures are generally pleasant and lend themselves to outdoor activities, although sometimes there can be rains and thunderstorms.
At times, hot 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 32 °C (90 °F). The temperature reached 37 °C (98.5 °F) in August 2003 and 36 °C (97 °F) in July 2015, while in 2022 it reached 35 °C (95 °F) in July and 34.7 °C (94.5 °F) in August, but otherwise, it generally does not go above 33/34 °C (91/93 °F) on the hottest days of the year.
Best Time
The best time to visit Lausanne is from mid-May to mid-September, since it is the warmest and sunniest of the year. However, we cannot exclude some rain, or a bit of cool weather, or even cold, especially in May and early June.
Lausanne - Climate data
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 2.7 °C (36.9 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 20.6 °C (69.1 °F). Here are the average temperatures.Lausanne - Average temperatures (1991-2020) | Month | Min (°C) | Max (°C) | Mean (°C) | Min (°F) | Max (°F) | Mean (°F) |
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| January | 0.7 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 33 | 40 | 36.9 |
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| February | 0.8 | 5.9 | 3.4 | 33 | 43 | 38 |
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| March | 3.7 | 10.5 | 7.1 | 39 | 51 | 44.8 |
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| April | 6.8 | 14.6 | 10.7 | 44 | 58 | 51.3 |
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| May | 10.7 | 18.9 | 14.8 | 51 | 66 | 58.6 |
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| June | 14.3 | 22.8 | 18.6 | 58 | 73 | 65.4 |
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| July | 16.2 | 25 | 20.6 | 61 | 77 | 69.1 |
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| August | 16.2 | 24.5 | 20.4 | 61 | 76 | 68.6 |
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| September | 12.7 | 19.8 | 16.2 | 55 | 68 | 61.2 |
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| October | 9.1 | 14.6 | 11.8 | 48 | 58 | 53.3 |
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| November | 4.5 | 8.9 | 6.7 | 40 | 48 | 44.1 |
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| December | 1.5 | 5.4 | 3.4 | 35 | 42 | 38.2 |
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| Year | 8.1 | 14.7 | 11.4 | 46.7 | 58.4 | 52.5 |
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Precipitation amounts to 1130 millimeters (44.5 inches) per year: it is therefore quite abundant. It ranges from 65 mm (2.6 in) in the driest month (February) to 115 mm (4.5 in) in the wettest one (May). Here is the average precipitation.Lausanne - Average precipitation| Month | Millimeters | Inches | Days |
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| January | 75 | 3 | 10 |
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| February | 65 | 2.6 | 8 |
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| March | 70 | 2.8 | 9 |
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| April | 85 | 3.3 | 9 |
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| May | 115 | 4.5 | 12 |
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| June | 105 | 4.1 | 10 |
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| July | 105 | 4.1 | 10 |
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| August | 110 | 4.3 | 10 |
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| September | 100 | 3.9 | 9 |
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| October | 110 | 4.3 | 10 |
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| November | 100 | 3.9 | 10 |
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| December | 100 | 3.9 | 11 |
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| Year | 1130 | 44.5 | 118 |
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There are on average around 1960 sunshine hours per year. Here are the average hours of sunshine per day.
Lausanne - Sunshine hours| Month | Average | Total |
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January | 2.5 | 75 | February | 4 | 110 | March | 5.5 | 170 | April | 6.5 | 195 | May | 7 | 215 | June | 8 | 240 | July | 8.5 | 260 | August | 8 | 240 | September | 6.5 | 190 | October | 4.5 | 130 | November | 2.5 | 80 | December | 2 | 60 | Year | 5.4 | 1960 |
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