Climate and average weather in Gabrovo

In Gabrovo, the summers are warm, showery, and mostly clear and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid June to early October

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Gabrovo typically varies from -3°C to 26°C, and is rarely below -11°C or above 31°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Gabrovo for warm-weather activities is from mid June to early October.

Hottest
Aug
26°
Coldest
Jan
-3°
Wettest
May
114 mm
Driest
Jan
49 mm
Rain / yr
841 mm
122 wet days
Daylight
8.8–15.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
536 m
42.9°N
Clearest
Aug
34% cloud

Gabrovo is city in Gabrovo municipality, Gabrovo oblast, Bulgaria.

Density
206/km²
people per km²
Founded
1477

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Gabrovo 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 mid June to early October.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.9 months, from May 27 to September 21, with daily high temperatures above 21°C. The hottest month of the year in Gabrovo is August, with an average high of 26°C and low of 16°C.

The cool season lasts 3.3 months, from November 23 to March 2, with daily high temperatures below 8°C. The coldest month of the year in Gabrovo is January, with an average low of -3°C and high of 3°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 11°C) in August.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3-3
Feb6-2
Mar101
Apr156
May2010
Jun2414
Jul2616
Aug2616
Sep2212
Oct167
Nov102
Dec4-2

How hot and cold Gabrovo 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 -6°C (around January 28), with roughly 122 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan33-6-3
Feb66-5-2
Mar1010-11
Apr151546
May20201010
Jun24241414
Jul26261516
Aug26261616
Sep22221212
Oct161677
Nov101012
Dec44-4-2

Average hourly temperature in Gabrovo

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 August afternoons, near 26°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -3°C.

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

Gabrovo 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°497.95.89.20.0
Feb / -2°518.35.810.20.3
Mar10° / 6911.14.711.62.1
Apr15° / 8013.31.113.14.2
May20° / 10°11415.6014.45.5
Jun24° / 14°10114.4015.16.3
Jul26° / 16°8811.7014.86.8
Aug26° / 16°598.3013.87.3
Sep22° / 12°648012.37.2
Oct16° / 577.70.510.85.4
Nov10° / 517.12.29.52.3
Dec / -2°5995.68.90.1

Chance of rain

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

Gabrovo gets about 841 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 5.0 months, from around Mar 4 to Aug 1, peaking in May at about 54% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Nov 3.

May is the wettest month by volume, with 114 mm over about 16 wet days; January is the driest, with 49 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetMay 31 · 54%Nov 3 · 21%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan258
Feb308
Mar3611
Apr4413
May5116
Jun4814
Jul3712
Aug288
Sep268
Oct258
Nov257
Dec299

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Gabrovo collects about 841 mm of rain across 122 wet days — roughly 70 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. May is the wettest month with 114 mm, while January is the driest at just 49 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 36% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec49516980114101885964575159
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan4986
Feb5186
Mar69115
Apr80131
May114160
Jun101140
Jul88120
Aug5980
Sep6480
Oct5781
Nov5172
Dec5996

Snow in Gabrovo

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.

Gabrovo averages about 26 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 19 to Apr 24 — about 6.2 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 6 days of snow and an estimated 31 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 148 cm of snow.

02468JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 3
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan627
Feb631
Mar529
Apr19
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct14
Nov217
Dec632

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Gabrovo, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 7 and lasts for 3.8 months, ending around October 1. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 82% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 2 and lasts for 8.1 months, ending around June 6. The cloudiest month is February, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 58% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecAug 19 · 84%Feb 15 · 40%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4555
Feb4258
Mar4357
Apr4456
May4753
Jun6139
Jul7723
Aug8218
Sep6634
Oct5149
Nov4555
Dec4357

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 18, brings about 15 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around December 17, only 8 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 6 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.27:535:03
Feb10.27:265:41
Mar11.66:396:18
Apr13.15:446:54
May14.45:027:28
Jun15.14:457:53
Jul14.84:587:50
Aug13.85:307:16
Sep12.36:046:22
Oct10.86:405:28
Nov9.57:194:49
Dec8.97:494:41

Sunny days

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

Gabrovo averages about 11 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 7 and 20 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.8 months, from around Jun 15 to Nov 6. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 19 sunny days (bright).

The greyest month is May, down near 8 sunny days — about 59% fewer than the August peak.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantAug 1920 daysMay 227 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb8Mixed
Mar9Mixed
Apr8Mixed
May8Gloomy
Jun12Mixed
Jul17Bright
Aug19Bright
Sep14Mixed
Oct12Mixed
Nov10Mixed
Dec9Mixed

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 Gabrovo, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.1 months, from around June 3 to September 5. The muggiest month is July, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 45% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 6 to June 2, and April is the most comfortable month — the air is dry or comfortable 100% of the time.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 22 · 100%Jul 31 · 48%humiddrycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May801810
Jun3240253
Jul1738405
Aug2243304
Sep672850
Oct93600
Nov100000
Dec100000

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 Gabrovo is steady company: average speeds sit near 6 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmApr 8 · 7 km/hOct 25 · 5 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr6calm
May6calm
Jun5calm
Jul5calm
Aug5calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit Gabrovo

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late June, Gabrovo is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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 Gabrovo for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to early October, with a peak score in the last week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 30 · 7.6

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
Feb0.4poor
Mar2.1poor
Apr4.2fair
May5.5fair
Jun6.3good
Jul6.8good
Aug7.3good
Sep7.2good
Oct5.4fair
Nov2.3poor
Dec0.1poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Gabrovo for hot-weather activities is from late June to mid September, with a peak score in the third week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 17 · 7.2

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 Gabrovo, 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 August (highs near 26°C), the essentials are light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 3°C), pack a warm layer and a heavy coat.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Gabrovo sees daytime highs around 26°C and nights near 16°C. Worth packing: light clothes, rain gear and sun protection. About 8 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Gabrovo 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 Gabrovo peaks around July 15 at about 9 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 1 (low).

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

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateVery highVery highHighModerateLowJul 15UV 9Dec 21UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar3Moderate
Apr8Very high
May7High
Jun9Very high
Jul9Very high
Aug8Very high
Sep6High
Oct4Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Gabrovo

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 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
Mar3.50
Apr74
May7.53
Jun8.55
Jul8.55
Aug7.54.5
Sep60
Oct30
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Gabrovo by month

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see which months the air is worst, not just the yearly average.

Air quality in Gabrovo is worst in March — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.6× the cleanest month (December, 10 µg/m³).

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateGoodMar 2015 µg/m³Dec 1210 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan13Moderate
Feb13Moderate
Mar16Moderate
Apr14Moderate
May14Moderate
Jun14Moderate
Jul12Moderate
Aug12Good
Sep10Good
Oct10Good
Nov10Good
Dec10Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Gabrovo typically lasts about 270 days, from around March 6 to November 30 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 10 to October 27.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 650%Apr 1090%Oct 2790%Nov 3050%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan2431
Feb3228
Mar6131
Apr9310
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct966
Nov7130
Dec3331

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. Gabrovo banks about 1,375 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

05001,0001,500JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr23
May153
Jun263
Jul335
Aug340
Sep205
Oct56
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.

Gabrovo receives about 4.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.5 and 6.4 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.0 months, from around Mar 22 to Sep 21. The brightest month is June, averaging about 6.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.5 kWh/m² — roughly 76% less than the June peak.

012345678JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 266.4 kWhDec 131.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.8Dim
Feb2.6Moderate
Mar3.8Moderate
Apr5.0Bright
May5.8Bright
Jun6.3Intense
Jul6.3Intense
Aug5.8Bright
Sep4.3Bright
Oct2.9Moderate
Nov1.9Dim
Dec1.5Dim

Where is Gabrovo?

Gabrovo sits at 42.9°N, 25.3°E, 536 m above sea level, in Bulgaria. The nearest listed city is Sevlievo, 24 km away.

KazanlakVeliko TarnovoGorna OryahovitsaTroyanKarlovoStara ZagoraLovech

Topography around Gabrovo

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gabrovo has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 402 m around an average of 463 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,283 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,349 m.

The land around Gabrovo is covered by trees (67%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 3 km, trees (83%) within 16 km, and trees (50%) and cropland (34%) within 80 km.

3 km
402 m
16 km
1,283 m
80 km
2,349 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaces
Nearby: Sevlievo 24 km · Kazanlak 29 km · Veliko Tarnovo 34 km · Gorna Oryahovitsa 42 km · Troyan 49 km · Karlovo 50 km · Stara Zagora 56 km · Lovech 57 km

Bulgaria travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 23% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$20,328
2025
Happiness
5.7 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
96%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
9.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 594
Religion
Christian 65%Muslim 10%none 5%other 0%

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 Gabrovo (42.8742°, 25.3182°, elevation 536 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. Monthly air-quality (PM2.5) seasonality is from the CAMS EAC4 reanalysis (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service), scaled to the WHO annual mean where available. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).