Climate and average weather in Zell am See

In Zell am See, the summers are mild, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late June to late August

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Zell am See typically varies from -10°C to 17°C, and is rarely below -16°C or above 23°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Zell am See for warm-weather activities is from late June to late August.

Hottest
Jul
17°
Coldest
Jan
-10°
Wettest
Jul
202 mm
Driest
Feb
86 mm
Rain / yr
1649 mm
198 wet days
Daylight
8.3–15.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
0 m
47.3°N
Clearest
Oct
61% cloud

Zell am See weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late June to late August.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Zell am See, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.7 months, from May 27 to September 17, with daily high temperatures above 12°C. The hottest month of the year in Zell am See is July, with an average high of 17°C and low of 8°C.

The cool season lasts 3.5 months, from November 22 to March 7, with daily high temperatures below 1°C. The coldest month of the year in Zell am See is January, with an average low of -10°C and high of -3°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 9°C) in July.

-20°-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-3-10
Feb-1-9
Mar2-6
Apr7-2
May112
Jun156
Jul178
Aug178
Sep134
Oct90
Nov2-5
Dec-2-8

How hot and cold Zell am See really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -13°C (around January 20), with roughly 196 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 92 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-3-3-13-10
Feb-1-1-12-9
Mar22-8-6
Apr77-4-2
May111122
Jun151566
Jul171788
Aug171788
Sep131344
Oct99-10
Nov22-7-5
Dec-2-2-12-8

Average hourly temperature in Zell am See

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 17°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -10°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Zell am See weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-3° / -10°9313.2148.70.0
Feb-2° / -9°8613.214.19.90.0
Mar / -6°11716.315.711.60.0
Apr / -2°11315.612.213.30.6
May11° / 16520814.82.2
Jun15° / 19521.53.415.73.3
Jul17° / 20221.71.715.34.1
Aug17° / 20120.3114.14.2
Sep13° / 15015.44.712.43.0
Oct / 12212.97.710.61.5
Nov / -5°11013.312.29.10.0
Dec-2° / -9°9714.414.68.30.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Zell am See gets about 1649 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is very wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 4.5 months, from around Apr 29 to Sep 13, peaking in June at about 72% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 20.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 202 mm over about 22 wet days; February is the driest, with 86 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 10 · 72%Oct 20 · 37%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4313
Feb4813
Mar5116
Apr5316
May6420
Jun7122
Jul6922
Aug6520
Sep5315
Oct4113
Nov4413
Dec4614

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Zell am See collects about 1649 mm of rain across 198 wet days — roughly 137 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 202 mm, while February is the driest at just 86 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 36% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec938611711316519520220115012211097
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan931314
Feb861314
Mar1171616
Apr1131612
May165208
Jun195223
Jul202222
Aug201201
Sep150155
Oct122138
Nov1101312
Dec971415

Snow in Zell am See

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Zell am See averages about 109 snowy days a year. Snow falls only in scattered spells rather than a settled season.

March is snowiest, with roughly 15 days of snow and an estimated 106 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 714 cm of snow.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMar 1
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1486
Feb1491
Mar16106
Apr1289
May848
Jun313
Jul27
Aug13
Sep536
Oct855
Nov1290
Dec1590

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Zell am See, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 25 and lasts for 4.3 months, ending around November 1. The clearest month is October, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 42% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around January 30 and lasts for 4.8 months, ending around June 24. The cloudiest month is May, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 68% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecOct 18 · 46%May 28 · 31%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3862
Feb3664
Mar3565
Apr3664
May3268
Jun3466
Jul4060
Aug4159
Sep3763
Oct4258
Nov3763
Dec3664

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 11, brings about 15 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around January 1, only 8 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.77:584:38
Feb9.97:255:22
Mar11.66:316:06
Apr13.35:286:50
May14.84:397:31
Jun15.74:188:00
Jul15.34:337:56
Aug14.15:117:15
Sep12.45:536:13
Oct10.66:365:12
Nov9.17:224:26
Dec8.37:564:13

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Zell am See averages about 7 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 5 and 10 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.0 months, from around Sep 29 to Feb 26. The sunniest month is October, with roughly 9 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 5 sunny days — about 38% fewer than the October peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedOct 1810 daysJun 115 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan9Mixed
Feb7Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May6Gloomy
Jun5Gloomy
Jul6Gloomy
Aug7Gloomy
Sep7Gloomy
Oct9Mixed
Nov7Gloomy
Dec8Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Zell am See, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 0% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul991
Aug991
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Wind in Zell am See is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmJan 1 · 6 km/hAug 4 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb5calm
Mar5calm
Apr5calm
May5calm
Jun4calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit Zell am See

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Zell am See throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late August, Zell am See is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Zell am See for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to early September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 31 · 4.4

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.0poor
Apr0.7poor
May2.2poor
Jun3.3poor
Jul4.1fair
Aug4.1fair
Sep3.0poor
Oct1.5poor
Nov0.1poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Zell am See rarely gets warm enough to lift this score — no time of year really suits hot-weather activities here.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDectemperaturecloudsprecipitation

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Zell am See, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 17°C), the essentials are a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -3°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Zell am See sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 8°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: a warm layer and sun protection. About 22 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Zell am See by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Zell am See peaks around July 14 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighVery highHighModerateLowJul 14UV 9Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar6High
Apr7High
May8Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep6High
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Zell am See

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 8.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 5.5 hours reach 6 or more. Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar5.50
Apr73
May84.5
Jun8.55
Jul8.55.5
Aug7.54
Sep60
Oct2.50
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Zell am See typically lasts about 173 days, from around April 27 to October 16 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from June 2 to September 10.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 2310%Apr 2750%Jun 290%Sep 1090%Oct 1650%Nov 2510%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan231
Feb228
Mar931
Apr3230
May7831
Jun963
Jul1000
Aug990
Sep8622
Oct5231
Nov1830
Dec431

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Zell am See banks about 168 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

050100150200JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May0
Jun22
Jul76
Aug69
Sep1
Oct0
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Zell am See receives about 3.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.2 and 5.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 11 to Sep 15. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.4 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.3 kWh/m² — roughly 76% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 275.4 kWhDec 211.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.6Dim
Feb2.5Moderate
Mar3.8Moderate
Apr5.1Bright
May5.4Bright
Jun5.4Bright
Jul5.3Bright
Aug4.5Bright
Sep3.6Moderate
Oct2.6Moderate
Nov1.7Dim
Dec1.3Dim

Where is Zell am See?

Zell am See sits at 47.3°N, 12.8°E, 0 m above sea level, in Austria. The nearest listed city is Kaprun, 6.0 km away.

KitzbuhelBad GasteinBad ReichenhallSalzburgFreilassingTraunstein

Topography around Zell am See

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Zell am See.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Zell am See has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 954 m around an average of 988 m above sea level; within 16 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,646 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,257 m.

The land around Zell am See is covered by trees (57%) within 3 km, trees (56%) and grassland (37%) within 16 km, and trees (53%) and grassland (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
954 m
16 km
2,646 m
80 km
3,257 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
Nearby: Kaprun 6.0 km · Saalfelden am Steinernen Meer 12 km · Kitzbuhel 34 km · Bad Gastein 34 km · Bad Reichenhall 46 km · Salzburg 56 km · Freilassing 59 km · Traunstein 62 km

Austria travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 82% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$62,930
2025
Happiness
6.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
99%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
4.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 616
Religion
Roman Catholic 55%none 22%Muslim 8%other 5%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Zell am See (47.3231°, 12.7984°, elevation 0 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).