Climate and average weather in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the summers are mild, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: mid June to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Garmisch-Partenkirchen typically varies from -8°C to 20°C, and is rarely below -17°C or above 26°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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen for warm-weather activities is from mid June to mid September.

Hottest
Jul
20°
Coldest
Jan
-8°
Wettest
Aug
203 mm
Driest
Feb
81 mm
Rain / yr
1632 mm
189 wet days
Daylight
8.2–15.8 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
705 m
47.5°N
Clearest
Aug
59% cloud
Air quality
Excellent
PM10 4 µg/m³ · 2019

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

Garmisch-Partenkirchen 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 mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 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 23 to September 17, with daily high temperatures above 15°C. The hottest month of the year in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is July, with an average high of 20°C and low of 10°C.

The cool season lasts 3.5 months, from November 21 to March 5, with daily high temperatures below 4°C. The coldest month of the year in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is January, with an average low of -8°C and high of 0°C.

Days typically run about 9°C warmer than nights year-round.

-20°-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan0-8
Feb2-7
Mar6-3
Apr100
May155
Jun188
Jul2010
Aug1910
Sep157
Oct113
Nov5-2
Dec1-6

How hot and cold Garmisch-Partenkirchen 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 -12°C (around January 21), with roughly 183 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 56 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)
Jan00-11-8
Feb22-10-7
Mar66-6-3
Apr1010-20
May151545
Jun181888
Jul19201010
Aug19191010
Sep151567
Oct111123
Nov55-4-2
Dec11-9-6

Average hourly temperature in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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 20°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -8°C.

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

Garmisch-Partenkirchen 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 / -8°8712.611.78.70.0
Feb / -7°8111.911.69.90.0
Mar / -3°11015.411.811.60.4
Apr10° / 11715.68.713.31.9
May15° / 18720.82.914.93.3
Jun18° / 20220.30.415.74.3
Jul20° / 10°20219.50.115.44.9
Aug19° / 10°20318.70.214.15.0
Sep15° / 14215.3112.44.1
Oct11° / 10913.14.310.62.7
Nov / -2°9912.48.99.10.5
Dec / -7°9413.511.88.30.0

Chance of rain

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

Garmisch-Partenkirchen gets about 1632 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 5.3 months, from around Apr 7 to Sep 14, peaking in June at about 69% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jan 17.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 203 mm over about 19 wet days; February is the driest, with 81 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 7 · 69%Jan 17 · 38%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4013
Feb4412
Mar4815
Apr5416
May6621
Jun6720
Jul6320
Aug6019
Sep5215
Oct4213
Nov4112
Dec4414

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Garmisch-Partenkirchen collects about 1632 mm of rain across 189 wet days — roughly 136 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 203 mm, while February is the driest at just 81 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 37% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec87811101171872022022031421099994
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan871312
Feb811212
Mar1101512
Apr117169
May187213
Jun202200
Jul202200
Aug203190
Sep142151
Oct109134
Nov99129
Dec941412

Snow in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen averages about 73 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Aug 30 to Jun 11 — about 9.4 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 13 days of snow and an estimated 77 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 459 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 14
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1268
Feb1277
Mar1272
Apr959
May314
Jun01
Jul01
Aug00
Sep15
Oct426
Nov964
Dec1273

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around June 19 and lasts for 2.9 months, ending around September 14. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 48% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around February 2 and lasts for 4.5 months, ending around June 18. The cloudiest month is May, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 66% 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 26 · 50%May 7 · 32%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4258
Feb3862
Mar3763
Apr3862
May3466
Jun3961
Jul4852
Aug4852
Sep4060
Oct4060
Nov3763
Dec3961

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 48 min of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 8 h 12 min — a swing of roughly 7 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.78:064:44
Feb9.97:325:29
Mar11.66:386:13
Apr13.35:356:57
May14.94:457:39
Jun15.74:248:08
Jul15.44:398:03
Aug14.15:177:22
Sep12.46:006:20
Oct10.66:435:19
Nov9.17:304:32
Dec8.38:044:20

Sunny days

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

Garmisch-Partenkirchen averages about 8 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 6 and 9 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 2.8 months, from around Jun 27 to Sep 19. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 9 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is June, down near 6 sunny days — about 26% fewer than the August peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedAug 159 daysJun 76 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan9Mixed
Feb7Gloomy
Mar8Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May6Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul9Mixed
Aug9Mixed
Sep8Gloomy
Oct8Gloomy
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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in August, 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccomfortabledry
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan10000
Feb10000
Mar10000
Apr10000
May10000
Jun90100
Jul76241
Aug77230
Sep9820
Oct10000
Nov10000
Dec10000

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

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmDec 23 · 6 km/hAug 11 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan6calm
Feb6calm
Mar6calm
Apr5calm
May5calm
Jun5calm
Jul5calm
Aug4calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec6calm

Best time to visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early September, Garmisch-Partenkirchen 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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 28 · 5.1

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
Mar0.4poor
Apr1.9poor
May3.3poor
Jun4.3fair
Jul4.9fair
Aug5.0fair
Sep4.1fair
Oct2.7poor
Nov0.5poor
Dec0.0poor

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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen for hot-weather activities is from mid July to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 31 · 2.7

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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 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 20°C), the essentials are rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 0°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Garmisch-Partenkirchen sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 10°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 20 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen 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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen peaks around July 12 at about 8 (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 12UV 8Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Low
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May7Very high
Jun8Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7Very high
Sep5Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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 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
Mar4.50
Apr60
May7.53.5
Jun8.55
Jul85
Aug73.5
Sep50
Oct1.50
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Garmisch-Partenkirchen typically lasts about 201 days, from around April 17 to November 3 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 10 to October 7.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 1810%Apr 1750%May 1090%Oct 790%Nov 350%Jan 1110%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan931
Feb1028
Mar2331
Apr5230
May9310
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep980
Oct7725
Nov3330
Dec1431

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. Garmisch-Partenkirchen banks about 420 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0200400600JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May8
Jun91
Jul149
Aug141
Sep31
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.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen receives about 3.4 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.1 and 5.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 12 to Sep 17. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.2 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.2 kWh/m² — roughly 77% less than the June peak.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightJun 295.3 kWhDec 201.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.4Dim
Feb2.3Moderate
Mar3.6Moderate
Apr4.8Bright
May5.1Bright
Jun5.2Bright
Jul5.2Bright
Aug4.5Bright
Sep3.5Moderate
Oct2.5Moderate
Nov1.5Dim
Dec1.2Dim

Where is Garmisch-Partenkirchen?

Garmisch-Partenkirchen sits at 47.5°N, 11.1°E, 705 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Telfs, 21 km away.

Topography around Garmisch-Partenkirchen

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Garmisch-Partenkirchen has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 898 m around an average of 855 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,307 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,249 m.

The land around Garmisch-Partenkirchen is covered by trees (64%) within 3 km, trees (72%) and grassland (20%) within 16 km, and trees (48%) and grassland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
898 m
16 km
2,307 m
80 km
3,249 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
Nearby: Telfs 21 km · Fussen 31 km · Hötting 32 km · Innsbruck 34 km · Wilten 34 km · Pradl 35 km · Penzberg 36 km · Igls 37 km

Germany travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 80% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$60,496
2025
Happiness
6.9 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.9
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.8
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 615
Religion
none 44%Roman Catholic 25%Protestant 23%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 Garmisch-Partenkirchen (47.4921°, 11.0958°, elevation 705 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).