Climate and average weather in Saalfeld

In Saalfeld, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late May to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Saalfeld typically varies from -3°C to 22°C, and is rarely below -12°C or above 29°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 Saalfeld for warm-weather activities is from late May to late September.

Hottest
Jul
22°
Coldest
Jan
-3°
Wettest
Jul
95 mm
Driest
Feb
41 mm
Rain / yr
775 mm
146 wet days
Daylight
7.7–16.3 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
230 m
50.6°N
Clearest
Aug
62% cloud

Saalfeld 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 May to late September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Saalfeld, 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 25 to September 13, with daily high temperatures above 18°C. The hottest month of the year in Saalfeld is July, with an average high of 22°C and low of 13°C.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 17 to March 6, with daily high temperatures below 6°C. The coldest month of the year in Saalfeld is January, with an average low of -3°C and high of 2°C.

Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 9°C) in August.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2-3
Feb3-3
Mar70
Apr123
May178
Jun2011
Jul2213
Aug2212
Sep179
Oct126
Nov62
Dec3-1

How hot and cold Saalfeld 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 -8°C (around January 27), with roughly 160 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan22-8-3
Feb33-7-3
Mar77-40
Apr121213
May171768
Jun20201011
Jul22221313
Aug22221212
Sep171789
Oct121236
Nov66-22
Dec33-6-1

Average hourly temperature in Saalfeld

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 22°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -3°C.

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

Saalfeld 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°5212.278.30.0
Feb / -3°4110.16.19.70.0
Mar / 5512.74.811.50.9
Apr12° / 5211.51.113.53.2
May17° / 8112.90.115.24.8
Jun20° / 11°8113.5016.25.6
Jul22° / 13°9514.2015.86.0
Aug22° / 12°8412.8014.36.2
Sep17° / 6410.9012.45.2
Oct12° / 5711.10.310.43.0
Nov / 5611.23.48.70.6
Dec / -1°5712.46.17.80.0

Chance of rain

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

Saalfeld gets about 775 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 4.2 months, from around May 3 to Sep 7, peaking in June at about 48% 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 95 mm over about 14 wet days; February is the driest, with 41 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetJun 8 · 48%Oct 20 · 33%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan3812
Feb3710
Mar4013
Apr3812
May4313
Jun4514
Jul4514
Aug4113
Sep3811
Oct3511
Nov3711
Dec4012

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Saalfeld collects about 775 mm of rain across 146 wet days — roughly 65 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 95 mm, while February is the driest at just 41 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 34% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec524155528181958464575657
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan52127
Feb41106
Mar55135
Apr52121
May81130
Jun81140
Jul95140
Aug84130
Sep64110
Oct57110
Nov56113
Dec57126

Snow in Saalfeld

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.

Saalfeld averages about 29 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 24 to Apr 27 — about 6.1 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 7 days of snow and an estimated 23 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 106 cm of snow.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 25
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan723
Feb624
Mar516
Apr14
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct01
Nov314
Dec624

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Saalfeld, 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 March 27 and lasts for 6.0 months, ending around September 25. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 42% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 24 and lasts for 5.1 months, ending around March 26. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 79% 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 2 · 46%Dec 19 · 21%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2476
Feb2674
Mar2773
Apr3763
May3466
Jun3466
Jul4060
Aug4258
Sep3466
Oct3070
Nov2476
Dec2179

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 20, brings about 16 h 18 min of light; the shortest, around December 20, only 7 h 42 min — a swing of roughly 8 h 36 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan8.38:174:30
Feb9.77:385:20
Mar11.56:386:10
Apr13.55:297:01
May15.24:337:48
Jun16.24:088:21
Jul15.84:258:15
Aug14.35:097:29
Sep12.45:586:20
Oct10.46:475:12
Nov8.77:404:20
Dec7.88:184:04

Sunny days

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

Saalfeld averages about 5 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 7 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 3.1 months, from around Jun 26 to Sep 28. The sunniest month is August, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is November, down near 4 sunny days — about 46% fewer than the August peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedAug 47 daysNov 203 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan5Gloomy
Feb4Gloomy
Mar5Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May6Gloomy
Jun5Gloomy
Jul6Gloomy
Aug7Gloomy
Sep6Gloomy
Oct5Gloomy
Nov3Gloomy
Dec4Gloomy

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 Saalfeld, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 10% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 26 · 100%Jul 26 · 88%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May95500
Jun771941
Jul6228100
Aug633080
Sep891010
Oct99100
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.

Across the year, average wind speed in Saalfeld is typically calm, near 12 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.5 months, from around Oct 15 to Mar 31. The windiest month is January, averaging about 14 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 1 to Oct 14, with August the calmest month at about 10 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 3 · 14 km/hAug 1 · 9 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan14light breeze
Feb14light breeze
Mar13light breeze
Apr11calm
May10calm
Jun10calm
Jul10calm
Aug10calm
Sep11calm
Oct12calm
Nov13light breeze
Dec14light breeze

Best time to visit Saalfeld

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early June, Saalfeld 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 Saalfeld for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to late September, with a peak score in the first week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 3 · 6.4

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
Mar0.9poor
Apr3.1poor
May4.8fair
Jun5.6good
Jul6.0good
Aug6.2good
Sep5.2fair
Oct3.0poor
Nov0.6poor
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 Saalfeld for hot-weather activities is from mid July to late August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 1 · 4.8

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 Saalfeld, 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 22°C), the essentials are rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 2°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Saalfeld sees daytime highs around 22°C and nights near 13°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Saalfeld 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 Saalfeld peaks around July 13 at about 7 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. 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 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJul 13UV 7Dec 22UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr4Moderate
May6High
Jun7High
Jul7High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Moderate
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Saalfeld

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 7.5 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended), and 3 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
Mar2.50
Apr4.50
May70
Jun82.5
Jul7.53
Aug6.50
Sep40
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Saalfeld typically lasts about 258 days, from around March 14 to November 26 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 25 to October 16.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1450%Apr 2590%Oct 1690%Nov 2650%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan3131
Feb3228
Mar5231
Apr8125
May980
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct9118
Nov6730
Dec3931

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. Saalfeld banks about 763 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

02004006008001,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr1
May63
Jun156
Jul226
Aug220
Sep94
Oct4
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.

Saalfeld receives about 3.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.6 and 5.3 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.9 months, from around Mar 22 to Sep 16. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.3 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.7 kWh/m² — roughly 87% less than the June peak.

0123456JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightJun 265.3 kWhDec 220.6 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.9Dim
Feb1.7Dim
Mar2.8Moderate
Apr4.4Bright
May5.1Bright
Jun5.3Bright
Jul5.2Bright
Aug4.5Bright
Sep3.1Moderate
Oct1.8Dim
Nov1.0Dim
Dec0.7Dim

Where is Saalfeld?

Saalfeld sits at 50.6°N, 11.4°E, 230 m above sea level, in Germany. The nearest listed city is Rudolstadt, 8.0 km away.

Topography around Saalfeld

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Saalfeld has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 363 m around an average of 279 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 639 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 961 m.

The land around Saalfeld is covered by trees (45%) and cropland (25%) within 3 km, trees (62%) within 16 km, and trees (43%) and cropland (38%) within 80 km.

3 km
363 m
16 km
639 m
80 km
961 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswater
Nearby: Rudolstadt 8.0 km · Ilmenau 32 km · Sonneberg 35 km · Jena 35 km · Arnstadt 36 km · Weimar 37 km · Erfurt 43 km · Apolda 43 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 Saalfeld (50.6483°, 11.3654°, elevation 230 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).