Climate and average weather in Kriens

In Kriens, the summers are mild, wet, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, snowy, and partly cloudy.

Best: late May to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Kriens typically varies from -3°C to 21°C, and is rarely below -8°C or above 27°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 Kriens for warm-weather activities is from late May to late September.

Hottest
Jul
21°
Coldest
Jan
-2°
Wettest
Jul
212 mm
Driest
Feb
111 mm
Rain / yr
1862 mm
187 wet days
Daylight
8.3–15.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
476 m
47.0°N
Clearest
Jul
56% cloud

Kriens 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 Kriens, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.8 months, from May 24 to September 16, with daily high temperatures above 17°C. The hottest month of the year in Kriens is July, with an average high of 21°C and low of 13°C.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 17 to March 5, with daily high temperatures below 6°C. The coldest month of the year in Kriens is January, with an average low of -2°C and high of 3°C.

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

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan3-2
Feb4-2
Mar80
Apr123
May167
Jun1911
Jul2113
Aug2113
Sep1710
Oct136
Nov72
Dec3-1

How hot and cold Kriens 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 -5°C (around February 1), with roughly 125 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in February.

-5°10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan33-4-2
Feb44-4-2
Mar88-20
Apr121223
May161667
Jun19191011
Jul21211313
Aug21211313
Sep17171010
Oct131366
Nov7722
Dec33-3-1

Average hourly temperature in Kriens

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 21°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -2°C.

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

Kriens 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 / -2°11813.711.98.70.0
Feb / -3°11112.610.8100.0
Mar / 12615.110.111.61.2
Apr12° / 13515.27.113.32.6
May16° / 18818.5214.84.0
Jun19° / 11°20018.60.215.64.9
Jul21° / 13°21218.50.115.35.4
Aug21° / 13°21117.70145.4
Sep17° / 10°16615.40.512.44.7
Oct13° / 13013.62.810.63.1
Nov / 13414.17.69.10.8
Dec / -1°13114.311.28.40.0

Chance of rain

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

Kriens gets about 1862 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 4.9 months, from around Apr 24 to Sep 18, peaking in June at about 64% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 22.

July is the wettest month by volume, with 212 mm over about 19 wet days; February is the driest, with 111 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 · 64%Oct 22 · 41%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4414
Feb4613
Mar4815
Apr5115
May5919
Jun6219
Jul5919
Aug5718
Sep5215
Oct4414
Nov4614
Dec4614

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Kriens collects about 1862 mm of rain across 187 wet days — roughly 155 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. July is the wettest month with 212 mm, while February is the driest at just 111 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 33% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec118111126135188200212211166130134131
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1181412
Feb1111311
Mar1261510
Apr135157
May188192
Jun200190
Jul212190
Aug211180
Sep166151
Oct130143
Nov134148
Dec1311411

Snow in Kriens

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.

Kriens averages about 64 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Sep 15 to Jun 7 — about 8.7 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 12 days of snow and an estimated 85 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 395 cm of snow.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonFeb 20
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan1274
Feb1185
Mar1046
Apr738
May28
Jun01
Jul00
Aug00
Sep12
Oct310
Nov855
Dec1177

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Kriens, 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 15 and lasts for 3.3 months, ending around September 22. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 52% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 23 and lasts for 5.5 months, ending around March 9. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 69% 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 25 · 54%Nov 18 · 30%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3763
Feb3763
Mar4060
Apr3961
May3763
Jun4258
Jul5248
Aug5050
Sep4258
Oct3664
Nov3169
Dec3268

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 14, brings about 15 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 14, 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)
Jan8.78:154:57
Feb10.07:425:41
Mar11.66:496:24
Apr13.35:467:08
May14.84:587:48
Jun15.64:378:17
Jul15.34:528:13
Aug14.05:307:32
Sep12.46:116:31
Oct10.66:535:30
Nov9.17:394:45
Dec8.48:134:33

Sunny days

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

Kriens 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 3.0 months, from around Jun 21 to Sep 20. The sunniest month is July, with roughly 9 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is November, down near 5 sunny days — about 40% fewer than the July peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedJul 2510 daysNov 145 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan7Gloomy
Feb7Gloomy
Mar8Mixed
Apr7Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun7Gloomy
Jul9Mixed
Aug10Mixed
Sep8Gloomy
Oct7Gloomy
Nov5Gloomy
Dec6Gloomy

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 Kriens, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in August, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 6% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 19 · 100%Aug 3 · 90%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan10000
Feb10000
Mar10000
Apr10000
May9910
Jun79201
Jul54405
Aug50436
Sep85140
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 Kriens is steady company: average speeds sit near 5 km/hcalm — in every month of the year, with no meaningful windy or calm season.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmMar 19 · 5 km/hAug 10 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb5calm
Mar5calm
Apr5calm
May5calm
Jun5calm
Jul5calm
Aug4calm
Sep5calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit Kriens

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

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

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 27 · 5.5

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
Mar1.2poor
Apr2.6poor
May4.0fair
Jun4.9fair
Jul5.4fair
Aug5.4fair
Sep4.7fair
Oct3.1poor
Nov0.8poor
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 Kriens for hot-weather activities is from late June to late August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 29 · 3.6

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 Kriens, 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 21°C), the essentials are 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, Kriens sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 13°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 19 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Kriens 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 Kriens peaks around July 15 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 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 15UV 8Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb2Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr5Moderate
May7High
Jun7Very high
Jul8Very high
Aug7High
Sep4Moderate
Oct3Moderate
Nov2Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Kriens

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
Mar40
Apr5.50
May7.53
Jun84
Jul8.55
Aug73
Sep4.50
Oct1.50
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Kriens typically lasts about 260 days, from around March 14 to November 28 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 24 to November 2.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1450%Apr 2490%Nov 290%Nov 2850%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan2631
Feb2528
Mar5231
Apr8325
May990
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct970
Nov6928
Dec3631

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. Kriens banks about 722 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0200400600800JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May41
Jun146
Jul213
Aug211
Sep101
Oct10
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.

Kriens receives about 3.5 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.1 and 5.7 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Mar 15 to Sep 19. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.5 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.1 kWh/m² — roughly 79% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 275.7 kWhDec 201.1 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.4Dim
Feb2.3Moderate
Mar3.5Moderate
Apr4.9Bright
May5.3Bright
Jun5.5Bright
Jul5.5Bright
Aug4.8Bright
Sep3.7Moderate
Oct2.5Moderate
Nov1.5Dim
Dec1.1Dim

Where is Kriens?

Kriens sits at 47.0°N, 8.3°E, 476 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Lucerne, 3.0 km away.

ChamZugBaarSchwyzHorgen

Topography around Kriens

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kriens has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 702 m around an average of 590 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,690 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,852 m.

The land around Kriens is covered by trees (56%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, trees (41%) and grassland (36%) within 16 km, and trees (40%) and grassland (36%) within 80 km.

3 km
702 m
16 km
1,690 m
80 km
3,852 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
Nearby: Lucerne 3.0 km · Littau 3.0 km · Emmen 5.0 km · Cham 22 km · Zug 24 km · Baar 26 km · Schwyz 28 km · Horgen 35 km

Switzerland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / J
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 112% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$114,769
2025
Happiness
7.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
97%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.6
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
2.2
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
High
EF EPI 564
Religion
Roman Catholic 34%none 29%Protestant 23%other Christian 6%

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 Kriens (47.0311°, 8.2855°, elevation 476 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).