Weather locations in Switzerland

Switzerland is entirely mountainous, and altitude decides everything about its weather. Beneath the peaks the country carries a temperate climate with warm summers and cold winters, but the temperature falls by roughly 6 °C for every 1,000 metres climbed, so there are really several climates in one. Rainfall rises with height, and snow covers the high valleys for much of the winter.

Main climate types

Köppen's scheme shows a humid temperate climate across the plateau and the lower slopes, grading into subalpine and alpine types above about 1,200 metres. Foehn winds, warm and dry, fall down the valleys ahead of weather fronts, occasionally raising temperatures sharply in a few hours.

Temperatures

At the foot of the Alps, Bern averages about 0 °C in January and about 20 °C in July. Lugano, on the southern side of the range, is milder, around 3 °C in January and 23 °C in July, because the plains keep the warm air. At 2,000 metres the mean January temperature is below -10 °C and the ground stays frozen most of the winter. The coldest places in the country are the high valleys of Valais and Graubünden, where winter nights commonly drop below -20 °C on calm, clear evenings.

Rainfall

Annual totals vary from about 500 to 600 mm in the driest valley floors to over 2,000 mm on the northern flank of the Alps and in the high valleys of Graubünden. Zurich receives around 1,000 mm, Bern some 900 mm, and the southern slopes near Lugano about 1,700 mm. Much of the rain arrives with the moving weather of spring and autumn. On the high massifs a large share of the annual total falls as snow, and the Alps form the water tower of central Europe.

When to go

Summer, from June to September, is the season for hiking, though afternoon storms are frequent and the higher cable cars run cold in cloud. Winter, from December to early April, is the skiing season; reliable snow lies on the northern ranges around Bern, Lucerne and the Engadin, and the Rhône valley holds it longest. Spring and autumn are quieter and cheaper, but are the wettest and often the foggiest. The best weather is usually found in high summer, at high altitude.