Switzerland Weather: Everything You Need To Know

Climate 

Topographically Switzerland can be divided into three distinctive areas… 1) three Fifth of this country is covered with the Alps, which has a major influence on the climate of this country; 2) another influential mountain is Jura in the western part of Switzerland,  and 3) 30% of this country is covered by Mittelland or plateau. All these have given rise to three climatic zones in Switzerland, such as the Western region, Central & Northern region, and Eastern region.

Overall the climate of Switzerland is temperate with an annual average temperature of 9 degrees C and rainfall of 53 centimetres. But it varies depending upon altitude and climatic regions. The main climatic feature of Switzerland is its snowfall. Taking into account all the major towns, cities and travel destinations the annual average snowfall (averaged over the last 30 years) is 3,126 inches.

In the following sections, we will delve into the weather conditions of mainly three major places in Switzerland… Geneva, located in the southwest part of the country, Zurich located in the northeast and Jungfraujoch in the Alps (at an altitude of 11,371ft) located almost in the central part of the country.

Temperature

Though temperature patterns vary from place to place, Geneva has a moderate winter with slightly warmer summer, whereas Zurich has little colder winter with moderate summer. Since Jungfrau is located at a high altitude in the Alps, it experiences extreme winter, but during summer it is well accessible.

The lowest temperatures in Geneva get to sub-zero levels in January and February with an average high of 5 to 6 degrees C. March & April experience moderate temperatures while May to September is on a warmer side with the highest average temperature seen in July (26.5 degrees C).

October is a typical transition month (autumn) towards winter and this transition continues until the first half of November. December is a moderate winter month. The lowest average temperature is recorded in January (-1.3 degrees C). For details see the weather chart of Geneva.

Zurich is a cooler city compared to Geneva. January, February and December are cold months with minimum variation in day and night temperatures. The lowest temperatures of all these three months get to sub-zero levels. The temperature variation is 4 to 5 degrees and the minimum average temperature is -2.0 degrees C in January.

March & April witness a sudden rise in maximum temperature with a steady rise in minimum temperature. The pattern is reversed in October and November. Summer is comfortable with maximum temperature varying between 18 to 24 degrees. The highest average maximum temperature is recorded in July (24 degrees). For more details see the weather chart of Zurich.

As for Jungfrau, it experiences minimum temperatures of sub-zero levels throughout the year with an average lowest of -16.5 in February. Only four months (June to September) see maximum temperatures rising above zero degrees C. The highest average maximum temperature recorded here is 3.2 degrees C in the month of July. For more details see the weather chart of Jungfraujoch.

Rainfall

Like most of the western European countries, Switzerland too does not have any particular rainy season and receives rain all through the year. The western region of Switzerland always receives more rain due to the influence of Jura Mountain. The northeast areas of Switzerland too get good rains.

The central part of the country, the rain shadow areas, experience lesser rain due to surrounding mountains. Geneva receives an annual average of 1,007 mm rains with a monthly average of 84 mm approximately, whereas Zurich receives 1,133 mm rainfall annually with a monthly average of 95 mm.

During the first four months of the year, Geneva receives moderate rainfall between 67 to 77 mm over 8 to 10 days per month. The summer season sees slightly higher rainfall with an average above 80 mm per month, with the highest in June (93 mm); however, May sees maximum rainy days of summer (11 days on an average). September and October see the most rainfall in Geneva exceeding 100 mm per month with an average of 10 rainy days in each month. November and December experience the same pattern of rainfall as summer (See weather chart).

There are three distinct rainy seasons in Zurich. Rain is quite moderate between January to March, while October to December and April see slightly higher rainfall. The first three months of the year averages between 62 to 77 mm and rainy days vary between 9 to 12 days a month.

April, October, November and December receive around 80 mm rainfall per month with 10 to 12 rainy days in each month. Summer experiences extensive rains. From May to August Zurich receives more than 120 mm rain per month with 10 to 11 rainy days. Refer to Zurich’s weather chart below for month-wise details.

Humidity

Both Geneva and Zurich are relatively low humid areas. Geneva sees the highest humidity in November (82%) and the lowest in June and July (65%). Humidity is higher during winter in comparison to summer. Spring and autumn experience lesser humidity than winter but slightly higher than summer.

The average relative humidity of Geneva is 73% per month. Zurich sees average monthly humidity of 77% which is slightly higher than Geneva. Winter and autumn experience higher humidity of around 80% whereas spring and summer see humidity of around 70%. The highest monthly humidity is 84% during November and December and the lowest is 69% in April (See charts).

Snowfall

Switzerland receives major snowfall due to its topography. Considering all the prominent places (human settlements) the total average snowfall in Switzerland is 3,126 inches with a monthly average of 260.5 inches. The western climatic region receives minimum snowfall whereas the eastern climatic region receives maximum.

With the exception of two places (Santis in the central north region and Weissfluhjoch in the eastern region) Switzerland usually does not receive any snowfall from June to September. December to February is the highest snowfall time in all three regions. In January western and eastern regions receive the highest snowfall of 170 and 286 inches respectively, whereas the north-central region receives the highest snowfall during February (190 inches).

The lowest snowfall month in the west is May (12 inches) as well as in north-central (30 inches), but for the eastern region, it is October (54 inches). The yearly average snowfall that the western region receives is 722 inches, the north-central region is 958 inches and the eastern zone is 1,446 inches.

Montana in the western region, Santis in the north-central region and Weissfluhjoch in the eastern region receive the maximum snowfall in Switzerland. Refer to the snowfall chart below for details.

Average snowfall in Switzerland (in inches)

(Cumulative data from all major cities and towns)

Sunny Days

Jungfrau sees more gross annual sunny hours than Geneva and Zurich due to its high altitude topography. The yearly total sunny hours at Jungfrau is 1,835 with a monthly average of 153 hours. Geneva sees total of 1,827 hours of sunshine per year with a monthly average of 152 hours, whereas Zurich experiences a yearly gross of 1,545 sunshine hours with an average of 129 hours per month.

Geneva sees minimum sunny hours during January, November and December averaging between 50 to 65 hours. February and October see 88 and 116 hours respectively. Spring experiences much higher sunshine hours, but summer has the highest sunny hours with an average high of 263 hours in July.

Zurich in comparison to Geneva experiences much lesser sunshine hours with the highest during summer (215 hours in July) and lowest during winter (42 hours in December). Spring and autumn see 4 to 5 hours of sunshine per day on average.

Jungfrau has a higher average of sunny hours than Geneva and Zurich. It sees 198 hours of sunshine in July (highest) and 110 sunny hours during December (lowest). This place witnesses a steady monthly average of around 150 hours of sunshine throughout the year. See the weather charts of all three places for further details.

Wind Speed

Geneva and Zurich experience mild wind speeds throughout the year. Jungfrau due to its altitude witnesses strong gusts of winds all around the year. The wind speed in Geneva ranges between 7 to 10 KPH. August sees the lowest wind speed of 7 KPH whereas March and April see the highest of 10 KPH. Other months experience a steady speed of 8 to 9 KPH.

Zurich experiences a more steady wind speed than Geneva. February to April and December see the highest wind speed of 11 KPH whereas the other 8 months see a steady wind speed of 7 KPH. Because of its elevation, Jungfrau experiences high wind speed with the highest of 30 KPH in January and December and the lowest of 23 KPH in August. The speed gradually descends from winter and picks up from autumn (See charts).

Weather Chart

Geneva

Zurich

Jungfraujoch

Best Time to Visit Switzerland

Many tourists love to visit Switzerland during summer due to its climatic pattern. The topography makes this country a very interesting place to explore with various climatic conditions even within each season because of its high mountains and low valleys.

But if you wish to avoid the rush then it would be a nice idea to visit during spring. A wide range of flowers bloom over the meadows and deciduous trees get back their colours creating a feast for the eyes. March is rather cool compared to April or May, if you are looking for a grand skiing experience then this is the right month though.

For adventure-seeking tourists, Fall (i.e. autumn) is also a great time to visit Switzerland. If you want to enjoy a lot of snow then go in winter but remember most of the high altitude destinations might be inaccessible then.

Travel Tips

Whenever you choose to visit Switzerland two things should not be forgotten… proper woollens are a must even during summer, an umbrella or raincoat should be carried as you can experience rain anytime. In summer Zurich receives maximum rain. Keeping a hooded windcheater will be a good idea as you may face gusts of winds at higher elevations.

• July and August are the best months with pleasant average temperatures
• July is the hottest month in Geneva and Zurich
• January is the coolest month in both Geneva and Zurich
• October is the wettest month in Geneva whereas June is the wettest month in Zurich
• February is the driest month in Geneva and January is the driest month in Zurich

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