Germany Weather: Everything You Need To Know

General Climate

Germany is the seventh-largest country in Europe and has a varied topography from the Alps in the south to the Baltic Sea in the north. It also covers the North European plains. However, due to North Atlantic drift, Germany has a temperate climate varying little from north to south. Most cities experience a warm summer and mild winters.

Since there is no particular monsoon season, Germany receives rainfall throughout the year with maximum rainfall during summer. Apart from the Alpine area most of Germany receives mild to moderate snowfall. This climatic condition makes Germany a great travel destination all through the year.

March to May is springtime when flowers bloom; June to September (particularly July and August) experience the highest rush of travellers with warm summer as well as rains. In fall or autumn temperature is mild and pleasant.

November to February is wintertime in Germany… sometimes the temperature comes down to a sub-zero level and there can be snowfall (southern Bavaria receives higher snowfall though), but in general a traveller can visit Germany any time of the year.

Germany Climatic Zones

Germany has three climatic zones.

• Northern Germany region which consists Berlin, Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony-Anhalt.
• Central Germany region consisting of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hessen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saarland and Thuringia.
• South Germany region with Bavaria, and Baden-Wartenberg.

Northern Germany

Temperatures and Rainfall by Month

During January and February Northern region of Germany experiences low temperatures and sometimes touching sub-zero levels. There is light to moderate rainfall for 8 to 10 days of the month during this time. March sees the transition from winter to spring and temperature as well as monthly sunshine hours gradually increase. However, rainfall remains as per the average.

April and May’s weather indicates typical continental spring with a rise in temperature to a comfort zone and with more sun lights, but from the later half, it sees an increase in rain. June, July and August are typical summers with warmer days and more frequent sunshine as well as more rainfall. Actually, this is the period when the northern region receives maximum rainfall.

September to October is autumn time. A steady fall in temperature is recorded during this period with diminishing sunny as well as rainy days. November and December months see a sharp fall in temperature and in the number of sunny days but rainfall decreases gradually.

Snowfall

The northern region of Germany receives moderate snowfall during the winter season. Reports from the last three decades suggest that the average annual precipitation in different parts of the northern region is around 25 inches and snowing for an average of 110 days with the highest at Hamburg for 129 days and lowest at Magdeburg for 96 days. Berlin receives an average snowfall for 106 days.

Berlin weather by month

Central Germany

Temperatures and Rainfall by Month

The temperature range of the Central Zone of Germany is almost similar to North Zone. During January and February, it experiences low temperatures touching sub-zero levels. These months receive moderate rainfall for nearly half the days with an average of 2 hours of sunshine per day.

Since the western part of the central zone is nearer to the North Sea, it always receives more rainfall than the eastern part. For the same reason, the western side is on an average 1 degree warmer than the eastern part throughout the year. March here is once again the transition month when temperature and monthly sunshine hours increase, and the season transitions from winter to spring.

The temperature rises during this time and one can enjoy few more sunny days, but the rainfall remains as per the average. April to May is a typical continental spring with a rise in temperature having more sunny days, however, there is an increase in rainy days during late May.

June, July and August are summer months with warmer days, the highest temperature hovers around 24 to 25 degrees Celsius with more frequent sunshine as well as more rainfall. West experiences more humidity than east because of its oceanic influence.  This is the time when the eastern part receives fairly high rainfall while the western part gets moderate rainfall.

September and October are autumn months when there is a steady drop of rainfall in the east. The number of sunny hours becomes much lesser in the entire central region. A sharp drop in temperature is experienced during November and December with a sub-zero temperature in December. The number of sunny days too comes down. However eastern part of the central region sees more sunny hours than the western part.

Snowfall

Snowfall takes place usually from November to February. The Central region experiences slightly more snowfall as well as snow days in comparison to the Northern region of Germany. The last thirty years of data suggest that the average yearly snowfall in different parts of the central region has been around 29 inches (snowing on an average for 122 days).

Fichtelberg (southern part of the central region) experiences maximum snowfall of 44 inches (160 days) and Erfurt experiences the lowest of 19.7 inches (95 days). West receives more snowfall than the east. An average of 20 inches of snowfall is experienced in Leipzig and 24.4 inches in Frankfurt per year.

Frankfurt Weather by Month

Southern Germany

Temperatures and Rainfall by Month

Bavarian temperature is much cooler than the rest of Germany because of the influence of the Alps. But the capital city Munich has an average temperature almost at par with the other two climatic regions. Munich receives more rains than other parts of Germany (more than 100mm rainfall per month particularly during summer due to thunderstorms).

In Munich, the winter spans through January and February when the temperature drops to as low as -2.5 degrees Celsius. Places on the Alps see much lower temperatures though.

March is the transition time towards spring with the temperature gradually climbing in Munich however the average minimum temperature drops to a sub-zero level at the southern part of Bavaria. Unlike other climate zones, Munich receives moderate rainfall in winters and springs. April and May experience modest temperatures while June to August is much warmer and sunny.

The first three months of the year witness less sunny days while during spring, summer and in the month of September there are more sunny hours in Munich. October sees the steady fall of temperature as well as sunshine hours. Winter sets in from November and it gets chillier in December with much lesser sunshine hours. On average, every month of the year receives rainfall for 10 to 11 days.

Snowfall

In the southern zone, Zugspitze located at an altitude of 9,712 ft sees an extreme weather condition with almost 79 inches of snowfall over 180 days per year. In comparison to that Munich receives snowfall for around 129 days a year with an average of 38.1 inches. Among other important places, Nuremberg receives 24.8 inches of snowfall in 110 days and Stuttgart receives 26.2 inches in 112 days a year. In an overall scenario southern zone of Germany experiences rather extreme weather conditions than the rest of the country.

Munich Weather by Month

Best Time to Visit Germany

As evident from the charts above, the best time to visit Germany is during summer. But since the tourist rush is pretty high during this time spring can be chosen as the second-best time to visit… you can enjoy mild chillness in the air and blooming flowers in the parks.

Due to Oktoberfest Munich draws a large number of tourists in October. But whenever there is a rush, the availability of hotel rooms become scarce and rates go up. Whenever you plan to visit Germany, be it in spring, summer or fall, do not forget to take a raincoat or umbrella with you as there is always a fair possibility of rain. If you are travelling during winter especially to the south, you need to be extra careful with the woollens you carry.

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• Know about Germany tourism before you travel