This post is also available in: Deutsch Русский Français
Poland has a moderate continental climate, with a short fairly hot summer and a harsh winter (from mid-October to mid-April) with minimum peaks around -20 ° C, with snowy precipitations and long periods of frost. The climate is uniform throughout the country with a continental character.
The average annual temperature varies from 7°C, in the mountainous countryside of Pomerania, in the Masurian Lakes region and in the highlands; to 10°C in the belt of sub-basins of the Carpathian Mountains, in the plains of Silesia and in Wielkopolska (Greater Poland). Only at the top of the Sudeten and Carpathian, the average temperature is about 0°C.
Summers are enough warm, with average temperatures between 20°C and 27°C. The hottest month is July with the average temperature standing at 18°C. Winters are cold, with average temperatures around 3 °C in the northwest and –8 °C in the northeast. The coldest month in Poland is January.
Precipitation falls throughout the year, although, especially in the east, winter is drier than summer, the average annual rainfall varied from 500 to 1000 milimeter. Rainfall decreases with distance from the Baltic Sea, the climate is oceanic in the north and west, and becomes gradually warmer and continental proceeding south and east.
In the Carpathians and in the Sudeten, there is an average annual rainfall of 800-1400 mm. In Pomerania and in the Lake District Masurian rainfall varies between 400 mm and 750 mm. The lowest amount of rainfall in Poland are in Wielkopolska and in Kujawy.
WHEN TO GO TO POLAND
The best time for a trip to Poland are the months between May and September, the months that have longer days and warmer temperatures.
The climate of Krakow.
THE CLIMATE OF POLAND: CLIMATE TABLES
WARSAW (90 meters) | ||||
Month | Average low (°C) | Average high (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precip. days |
January | -4,2 | 0,6 | 27 | 12 |
February | -3,6 | 1,9 | 26 | 11 |
March | -0,6 | 6,6 | 31 | 12 |
April | 3,9 | 13,6 | 342 | 13 |
May | 8,9 | 19,5 | 56 | 14 |
June | 11,8 | 21,9 | 69 | 15 |
July | 13,9 | 24,4 | 73 | 14 |
August | 13,1 | 23,9 | 64 | 13 |
September | 9,1 | 18,4 | 46 | 15 |
October | 4,8 | 12,7 | 32 | 15 |
November | 0,6 | 5,9 | 37 | 15 |
December | -3,0 | 1,6 | 34 | 14 |
YEAR | 4,6 | 12,6 | 529 | 163 |
KRAKÓW (219 meters) | ||||
Month | Average low (°C) | Average high (°C) | Precip. (mm) | Precip. days (snowy days) |
January | -4,9 | 1,0 | 39 | 18 (13) |
February | -4,0 | 2,5 | 33 | 17 (12) |
March | 0,6 | 7,5 | 39 | 15 (7) |
April | 3,9 | 14,0 | 47 | 15 (3) |
May | 8,8 | 19,4 | 82 | 15 |
June | 11,9 | 21,9 | 90 | 16 |
July | 13,7 | 24,2 | 85 | 14 |
August | 13,2 | 23,7 | 74 | 13 |
September | 9,3 | 18,4 | 61 | 13 |
October | 4,8 | 13,6 | 41 | 13 (1) |
November | 0,3 | 6,5 | 41 | 17 (7) |
December | -3,6 | 1,8 | 38 | 20 (12) |
YEAR | 4,4 | 12,9 | 670 | 186 (55) |