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Weather extremes

How extreme does Zürich's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Zürich has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Zuerich/Fluntern station 2 km away. Updated through May 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Zürich has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day
97°F Aug 13, 2003

That is about 22°F hotter than a normal August afternoon in Zürich (typical high near 75°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 97°F Aug 13, 2003
2 96°F Jul 27, 1983
3 96°F Jul 31, 1983
❄️ Coldest night
-5°F Jan 12, 1987

About 35°F colder than a normal January night in Zürich (typical low near 30°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -5°F Jan 12, 1987
2 -3°F Jan 9, 1985
3 -2°F Jan 8, 1985
🌧️ Most rain in one day
3.85 in Aug 8, 2007

About 82% of a typical August's rain in a single day (Zürich averages roughly 4.7 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 3.85 in Aug 8, 2007
2 3.83 in Aug 7, 1978
3 3.82 in Jun 23, 1973

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

-30°-10°10°30°50°70°90°110° all-time high 97°F JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Zürich's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — August's 97°F is about 22°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Zürich's warmest days reach the mid-70s°F and its coldest nights drop to the low 30s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 97°F and as low as −5°F. A single day has delivered over 4 inches of rain. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.
Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from a national meteorological service, measured at Zürich / Fluntern, about 2 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →