Climate - Zurich (Switzerland)

The climate of Zurich is moderately continental, with cold winters and warm summers.
The city is located in the north of Switzerland, on the shores of the lake of the same name, which are located at an altitude of 400 meters (1,300 feet).
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.
Sometimes, there can be cold spells, in which temperatures can drop as low as -15 °C (5 °F) or even below. At the Kloten airport, the temperature dropped to -24 °C (-11 °F) in February 1956 and in January 1963, to -22 °C (-7.5 °F) in January 1968, to -25 °C (-13 °F) in January 1985 and in January 1987, to -19.5 °C (-3 °F) in February 1999, and to -20 °C (-4 °F) in February 2012.
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 38 °C (100.5 °F) in August 2003, 37 °C (98.5 °F) in July 1983, 36 °C (97 °F) in June 2003, in July 2013, in July 2015 and in July 2019, and 35.5 °C (96 °F) in July 2020.
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of 0.5 °C (33 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 19 °C (66 °F). Here are the average temperatures at the meteorological station of Fluntern, located at an altitude of 570 meters (1,870 feet).

Precipitation amounts to 1,135 millimeters (44.7 inches) per year: so, it is quite abundant. It ranges from 65 mm (2.6 in) in the driest months (January, February) to 130 mm (5.1 in) in the wettest (June). In late spring and in summer, the rains are more abundant because they often occur in the form of thunderstorm.
On average, 85 cm (33.5 in) of snow fall per year (more than in the other major cities of Switzerland).
Here is the average precipitation.

On average, there are around 1,540 sunshine hours per year. In winter, the sky is often gray and the sun is rarely seen. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

Best Time

The best time to visit Zurich 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.