Climate and average weather in Schwyz

In Schwyz, 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 Schwyz typically varies from -6°C to 19°C, and is rarely below -13°C or above 25°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 Schwyz for warm-weather activities is from mid June to mid September.

Hottest
Jul
19°
Coldest
Jan
-6°
Wettest
Aug
227 mm
Driest
Feb
117 mm
Rain / yr
1981 mm
196 wet days
Daylight
8.3–15.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
521 m
47.0°N
Clearest
Aug
60% cloud
Air quality
Good
PM2.5 8.4 µg/m³ · 2020

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

Schwyz 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 Schwyz, 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 25 to September 18, with daily high temperatures above 14°C. The hottest month of the year in Schwyz is July, with an average high of 19°C and low of 10°C.

The cool season lasts 3.6 months, from November 18 to March 7, with daily high temperatures below 3°C. The coldest month of the year in Schwyz is January, with an average low of -6°C and high of -1°C.

Days typically run about 8°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 9°C) in May.

-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan-1-6
Feb1-6
Mar5-3
Apr80
May134
Jun178
Jul1910
Aug1910
Sep157
Oct103
Nov4-2
Dec0-5

How hot and cold Schwyz 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 -9°C (around January 23), with roughly 176 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

-10°-5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan-1-1-9-6
Feb11-9-6
Mar55-5-3
Apr88-10
May131344
Jun171788
Jul19191010
Aug19191010
Sep151577
Oct101033
Nov44-4-2
Dec00-8-5

Average hourly temperature in Schwyz

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 19°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -6°C.

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

Schwyz 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-1° / -6°12813.513.68.70.0
Feb / -6°11712.712.4100.0
Mar / -3°13715.913.711.60.1
Apr / -0°14216.110.213.31.3
May13° / 19620.35.214.82.8
Jun17° / 22420.41.415.64.1
Jul19° / 10°22020.20.615.34.8
Aug19° / 10°22718.70.5144.9
Sep15° / 17115.92.312.43.8
Oct10° / 13513.75.510.62.2
Nov / -2°14314.211.39.10.2
Dec / -6°14014.713.68.40.0

Chance of rain

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

Schwyz gets about 1981 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 18 to Sep 13, peaking in June at about 72% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Oct 21.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 227 mm over about 19 wet days; February is the driest, with 117 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 · 72%Oct 21 · 41%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4314
Feb4713
Mar5016
Apr5416
May6620
Jun6820
Jul6520
Aug6019
Sep5316
Oct4514
Nov4714
Dec4715

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Schwyz collects about 1981 mm of rain across 196 wet days — roughly 165 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 227 mm, while February is the driest at just 117 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 34% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

050100150200250JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec128117137142196224220227171135143140
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan1281414
Feb1171312
Mar1371614
Apr1421610
May196205
Jun224201
Jul220201
Aug227191
Sep171162
Oct135146
Nov1431411
Dec1401514

Snow in Schwyz

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.

Schwyz averages about 90 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Aug 21 to Jul 20 — about 11 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 13 days of snow and an estimated 110 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 665 cm of snow.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonDec 24
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan14103
Feb12114
Mar1488
Apr1078
May525
Jun16
Jul13
Aug10
Sep210
Oct632
Nov1195
Dec14110

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Schwyz, 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 3.0 months, ending around September 17. The clearest month is August, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 44% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around March 26 and lasts for 2.8 months, ending around June 18. The cloudiest month is May, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 68% 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 17 · 46%May 7 · 29%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan4159
Feb3961
Mar3862
Apr3565
May3268
Jun3763
Jul4456
Aug4456
Sep3862
Oct3664
Nov3565
Dec3862

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 15, 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)
Jan8.78:144:56
Feb10.07:415:39
Mar11.66:486:22
Apr13.35:457:06
May14.84:567:47
Jun15.64:368:16
Jul15.34:518:11
Aug14.05:287:31
Sep12.46:106:30
Oct10.66:525:29
Nov9.17:384:43
Dec8.48:124:31

Sunny days

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

Schwyz 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 9 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.7 months, from around Nov 22 to Apr 13. The sunniest month is February, with roughly 9 sunny days (mixed).

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

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsunniergreyersunniergloomymixedFeb 109 daysMay 45 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan9Mixed
Feb8Mixed
Mar9Mixed
Apr7Gloomy
May5Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul8Gloomy
Aug8Mixed
Sep7Gloomy
Oct7Gloomy
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 Schwyz, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, 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 (%)
Jan1000
Feb1000
Mar1000
Apr1000
May1000
Jun964
Jul8515
Aug8614
Sep991
Oct1000
Nov1000
Dec1000

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

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDeccalmDec 20 · 6 km/hAug 5 · 4 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan5calm
Feb5calm
Mar5calm
Apr5calm
May5calm
Jun4calm
Jul4calm
Aug4calm
Sep4calm
Oct5calm
Nov5calm
Dec5calm

Best time to visit Schwyz

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late June, Schwyz 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 Schwyz for general outdoor tourist activities is from mid June to mid September, with a peak score in the second week of August.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationAug 11 · 4.9

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
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.1poor
Apr1.3poor
May2.8poor
Jun4.1fair
Jul4.8fair
Aug4.8fair
Sep3.8fair
Oct2.2poor
Nov0.3poor
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 Schwyz 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 30 · 2.2

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 Schwyz, 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 19°C), the essentials are rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -1°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Schwyz sees daytime highs around 19°C and nights near 10°C. Pack rain gear. Worth having: sun protection. About 20 days see rain.

UV index (midday) in Schwyz 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 Schwyz 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 Schwyz

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 Schwyz typically lasts about 201 days, from around April 19 to November 5 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 16 to October 9.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonFeb 2210%Apr 1950%May 1690%Oct 990%Nov 550%Jan 910%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan831
Feb928
Mar2231
Apr4830
May8916
Jun990
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep980
Oct8022
Nov3530
Dec1331

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. Schwyz banks about 363 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0100200300400JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May2
Jun71
Jul134
Aug129
Sep26
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.

Schwyz receives about 3.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 1.2 and 5.7 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 5.6 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 1.2 kWh/m² — roughly 78% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 255.7 kWhDec 201.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan1.5Dim
Feb2.4Moderate
Mar3.8Moderate
Apr5.1Bright
May5.5Bright
Jun5.6Bright
Jul5.5Bright
Aug4.8Bright
Sep3.7Moderate
Oct2.5Moderate
Nov1.6Dim
Dec1.2Dim

Where is Schwyz?

Schwyz sits at 47.0°N, 8.7°E, 521 m above sea level, in Switzerland. The nearest listed city is Einsiedeln, 14 km away.

ZugBaarChamRapperswilLucerneHorgenJona

Topography around Schwyz

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Schwyz has very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,408 m around an average of 711 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,013 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,827 m.

The land around Schwyz is covered by grassland (48%) and trees (41%) within 3 km, trees (44%) and grassland (41%) within 16 km, and trees (39%) and grassland (39%) within 80 km.

3 km
1,408 m
16 km
2,013 m
80 km
3,827 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewatermoss and lichen
Nearby: Einsiedeln 14 km · Zug 20 km · Baar 22 km · Cham 23 km · Rapperswil 26 km · Lucerne 27 km · Horgen 27 km · Jona 27 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 Schwyz (47.0208°, 8.6541°, elevation 521 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).