Climate and average weather in Messina

In Messina, the summers are humid, warm, fairly dry, and clear and the winters are cool and partly cloudy.

Best: mid May to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Messina typically varies from 10°C to 27°C, and is rarely below 7°C or above 30°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while February is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Messina for warm-weather activities is from mid May to late September.

Hottest
Aug
27°
Coldest
Feb
10°
Wettest
Dec
109 mm
Driest
Jul
9 mm
Rain / yr
739 mm
106 wet days
Daylight
9.3–14.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
3 m
38.2°N
Clearest
Jul
11% cloud
Air quality
Good
PM10 22.3 µg/m³ · 2019

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

Messina 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 May to late September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.3 months, from June 15 to September 23, with daily high temperatures above 24°C. The hottest month of the year in Messina is August, with an average high of 27°C and low of 23°C.

The cool season lasts 4.1 months, from December 4 to April 6, with daily high temperatures below 16°C. The coldest month of the year in Messina is February, with an average low of 10°C and high of 13°C.

Days typically run about 4°C warmer than nights year-round.

10°15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan1310
Feb1310
Mar1411
Apr1713
May2016
Jun2420
Jul2723
Aug2723
Sep2521
Oct2218
Nov1815
Dec1512

Average hourly temperature in Messina

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 27°C, and coldest before dawn in February, near 10°C.

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

Messina weather by month

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

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan13° / 10°9212.79.63.6
Feb13° / 10°8511.810.53.5
Mar14° / 11°7810.811.74.4
Apr17° / 13°579.8135.5
May20° / 16°305.8147.4
Jun24° / 20°213.914.68.6
Jul27° / 23°92.314.48.7
Aug27° / 23°16313.58.3
Sep25° / 21°659.412.37.4
Oct22° / 18°9210.7116.8
Nov18° / 15°8711.79.95.7
Dec15° / 12°109149.44.1

Chance of rain

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

Messina gets about 739 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is some rain, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 7.4 months, from around Sep 13 to Apr 24, peaking in December at about 45% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Jul 6.

December is the wettest month by volume, with 109 mm over about 14 wet days; July is the driest, with 9 mm.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetDec 16 · 45%Jul 6 · 6%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4113
Feb4212
Mar3611
Apr3210
May196
Jun134
Jul82
Aug113
Sep309
Oct3511
Nov3912
Dec4414

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Messina collects about 739 mm of rain across 106 wet days — roughly 62 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. December is the wettest month with 109 mm, while July is the driest at just 9 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 40% of the year’s total.

0255075100125150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec928578573021916659287109
Rainfall (mm)Rain days
Jan9213
Feb8512
Mar7811
Apr5710
May306
Jun214
Jul92
Aug163
Sep659
Oct9211
Nov8712
Dec10914

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Messina, 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 May 2 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around September 27. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 99% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 28 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around May 1. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 44% 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 14 · 99%Dec 22 · 55%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan5743
Feb6040
Mar6535
Apr6832
May7624
Jun8812
Jul991
Aug955
Sep8020
Oct6832
Nov6139
Dec5644

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 19, brings about 14 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 18, only 9 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 5 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan9.67:194:56
Feb10.56:575:28
Mar11.76:175:58
Apr13.05:286:28
May14.04:526:56
Jun14.64:397:17
Jul14.44:517:16
Aug13.55:176:47
Sep12.35:455:59
Oct11.06:135:13
Nov9.96:464:40
Dec9.47:134:35

Sunny days

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

Messina averages about 17 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 9 and 29 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.6 months, from around May 6 to Sep 23. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 29 sunny days (brilliant).

The greyest month is December, down near 9 sunny days — about 67% fewer than the July peak.

05101520253035JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedbrightbrilliantJul 2129 daysDec 229 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan10Mixed
Feb10Mixed
Mar14Mixed
Apr15Mixed
May18Bright
Jun24Brilliant
Jul29Brilliant
Aug28Brilliant
Sep19Bright
Oct15Mixed
Nov11Mixed
Dec10Mixed

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

The more humid part of the year lasts 4.9 months, from around May 31 to October 26. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 98% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around October 27 to May 30, and January 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJan 11 · 100%Aug 8 · 1%oppressivecomfortablehumidmuggydrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)Oppressive (%)
Jan991000
Feb1000000
Mar991000
Apr8911000
May42451210
Jun62842222
Jul06295610
Aug02185921
Sep41440375
Oct183437110
Nov5933810
Dec945000

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 Messina is typically light breeze, near 13 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.0 months, from around Nov 1 to May 2. The windiest month is December, averaging about 16 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around May 3 to Oct 31, with August the calmest month at about 10 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeDec 24 · 16 km/hAug 20 · 10 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan15light breeze
Feb16light breeze
Mar15light breeze
Apr14light breeze
May12light breeze
Jun11calm
Jul11calm
Aug10calm
Sep11calm
Oct12light breeze
Nov15light breeze
Dec16light breeze

Hazard calendar for Messina

In seasonPeak

When the seasonal hazards worth planning around — the rainy season, tropical-cyclone risk and dust haze — are active through the year.

Messina's rainy season runs September–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Rainy season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Best time to visit Messina

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around mid September, Messina 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 Messina for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid May to late September, with a peak score in the first week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 1 · 8.9

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
Jan3.6fair
Feb3.5poor
Mar4.4fair
Apr5.6good
May7.3good
Jun8.5ideal
Jul8.7ideal
Aug8.3ideal
Sep7.4good
Oct6.8good
Nov5.7good
Dec4.1fair

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 Messina for hot-weather activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 8 · 8.7

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 Messina, 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 27°C), the essentials are light clothes and sun protection. In the cold season around February (highs near 13°C), pack a warm layer and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Messina sees daytime highs around 27°C and nights near 23°C. Pack light clothes and sun protection. About 3 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Messina

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 21 km away) is warmest in August at about 27°C and coldest in February near 14°C.

It's comfortable for a long swim from May 28 to Nov 12 — about 5.6 months when the water holds above 20°C.

15°20°25°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshingwarmtropicalcomfortable to swim
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan15Cool
Feb14Bracing
Mar15Bracing
Apr16Cool
May19Cool
Jun23Refreshing
Jul26Warm
Aug27Warm
Sep25Warm
Oct22Refreshing
Nov20Cool
Dec17Cool

UV index (midday) in Messina 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 Messina peaks around July 16 at about 10 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighHighVery highHighModerateJul 16UV 10Dec 22UV 2
UV index (midday)Level
Jan2Low
Feb3Moderate
Mar6High
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun9Very high
Jul10Extreme
Aug9Very high
Sep7High
Oct5Moderate
Nov3Moderate
Dec2Low

Average hourly UV index in Messina

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 6 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
Feb2.50
Mar5.50
Apr5.50
May72.5
Jun8.55.5
Jul8.56
Aug85
Sep62.5
Oct4.50
Nov00
Dec00

Air quality in Messina 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 Messina is worst in April — around 16 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.8× the cleanest month (December, 9 µg/m³).

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

01020JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecGoodModerateGoodApr 1616 µg/m³Dec 169 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan9Good
Feb13Moderate
Mar15Moderate
Apr16Moderate
May15Moderate
Jun13Moderate
Jul15Moderate
Aug15Moderate
Sep12Moderate
Oct11Good
Nov9Good
Dec9Good
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayFrost-free year round

Messina is frost-free year round — even the coldest nights rarely reach freezing, so there is no start or end to the growing season.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecfrost-free year round
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

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. Messina banks about 2,837 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

01,0002,0003,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan50
Feb37
Mar80
Apr141
May254
Jun362
Jul457
Aug477
Sep387
Oct306
Nov189
Dec96

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.

Messina receives about 4.7 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — bright — with a clear seasonal swing between 2.0 and 7.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.1 months, from around Mar 19 to Sep 19. The brightest month is July, averaging about 7.3 kWh/m² (intense).

The dimmest month is December, down near 2.0 kWh/m² — roughly 73% less than the July peak.

0123456789JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJul 17.5 kWhDec 192.0 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan2.3Moderate
Feb3.1Moderate
Mar4.6Bright
Apr5.7Bright
May6.7Intense
Jun7.3Intense
Jul7.3Intense
Aug6.5Intense
Sep4.9Bright
Oct3.6Moderate
Nov2.5Moderate
Dec2.0Dim

Where is Messina?

Messina sits at 38.2°N, 15.6°E, 3 m above sea level, in Italy. The nearest listed city is Reggio Calabria, 13 km away.

Topography around Messina

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Messina has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 429 m around an average of 70 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,120 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,306 m.

The land around Messina is covered by water (35%), artificial surfaces (33%) and trees (25%) within 3 km, water (46%) and trees (39%) within 16 km, and water (62%) and trees (28%) within 80 km.

3 km
429 m
16 km
1,120 m
80 km
3,306 m
treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Nearby: Reggio Calabria 13 km · Milazzo 27 km · Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto 30 km · Palmi 32 km · Gioia Tauro 40 km · Taormina 44 km · Giarre 62 km · Siderno 65 km

Italy travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F / L
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 69% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$43,309
2025
Happiness
6.6 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.6
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
5.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 513
Religion
Christian 81%unaffiliated 13%Muslim 5%other 1%

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 Messina (38.1939°, 15.5526°, elevation 3 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).