How extreme does Athens's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Athens 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 Athens Ou station. Updated through June 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 Athens has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

104°F Jul 9, 1988

That is about 22°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Athens (typical high near 82°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 104°F Jul 9, 1988

2 103°F Jul 17, 1988

3 103°F Aug 18, 1988

❄️ Coldest night

-26°F Dec 22, 1989

About 53°F colder than a normal December night in Athens (typical low near 27°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -26°F Dec 22, 1989

2 -25°F Dec 23, 1989

3 -24°F Jan 21, 1984

🌧️ Most rain in one day

5.12 in Sep 9, 2004

More rain in a single day than Athens usually gets in the whole month of September (typical September total about 3.2 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 5.12 in Sep 9, 2004

2 4.48 in Jul 14, 1981

3 4.35 in Sep 18, 2004

⛄ Most snow in one day

10.0 in Feb 13, 1985

Close to a whole typical February's snow in one day (Athens averages about 6 in across the month).

The three most extreme on record

1 10.0 in Feb 13, 1985

2 9.0 in Apr 5, 1987

3 8.0 in Feb 9, 1971

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.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Athens's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 104°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, Athens's warmest days reach the low 80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the low 20s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 104°F and as low as −26°F. A single day has delivered over 5 inches of rain or close to 10 inches of snow. 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 NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Athens OU (NOAA GHCN station USC00330279), inside the city.

How we build these numbers →

← Athens city detail