Poland’s climate belongs to the temperate continental type, characterized by frequent weather changes, with dry masses of air from the Eurasian continent clashing with the humid air from above the Atlantic.

In Kraków, the local climate is additionally affected by its disadvantageous, from this point of view, geographic position – in the valley between the Carpathians and the mountainous regions of the Vistula valley, which results in foggy weather approximately 60 days a year and a lot of deviations in air pressure.

With an average annual temperature of 8-9°C (about 47°F), the lowest temperatures are experienced here between mid-January and mid-February (the average January temperature is 3°C/37°F) whereas July and August belong to the hottest and sunniest months in the year, with an average July temperature of 18°C (64°F).

Krakow’s climate is rather humid with winter humidity keeping up at 85%. The annual precipitation is between 650 and 700mm, with maximum precipitation in July and minimum in September. You should expect snowfall beginning at the end of October and staying on the ground until as late as mid-March, although in the recent years the winters have become increasingly mild.

You should expect strong winds mainly from the West and the typical local foehn wind called halny which – although warm and dry – usually triggers a few days of worse weather and a heavy rainfall.

Record climate figures for Kraków:

The lowest air temperature: -32.7°C (about -25°F)
The highest air temperature: 38.4°C (about 101°F)
Maximum air temperature in winter: 18.2°C (about 65°F)
The longest period of precipitation: 33 days
The longest precipitation-free period: 31 days