Climate and average weather in Sneek

In Sneek, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are cold, breezy, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late May to late September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Sneek typically varies from 2°C to 20°C, and is rarely below -5°C or above 27°C. August is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

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

Hottest
Aug
20°
Coldest
Jan
Wettest
Aug
92 mm
Driest
Apr
45 mm
Rain / yr
833 mm
151 wet days
Daylight
7.3–16.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
6 m
53.0°N
Clearest
Jul
61% cloud

Sneek is town in Súdwest-Fryslân, Netherlands.

Density
964/km²
people per km²

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

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

The hot season lasts 3.6 months, from June 1 to September 19, with daily high temperatures above 17°C. The hottest month of the year in Sneek is August, with an average high of 20°C and low of 15°C.

The cool season lasts 3.7 months, from November 21 to March 14, with daily high temperatures below 8°C. The coldest month of the year in Sneek is January, with an average low of 2°C and high of 5°C.

Days typically run about 5°C warmer than nights year-round.

10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan52
Feb62
Mar83
Apr126
May169
Jun1812
Jul2014
Aug2015
Sep1812
Oct139
Nov95
Dec63

How hot and cold Sneek 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 -4°C (around January 27), with roughly 123 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

-5°10°15°20°25°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan55-32
Feb66-32
Mar88-13
Apr121226
May161679
Jun18181212
Jul20201414
Aug20201415
Sep17181212
Oct131369
Nov9915
Dec66-23

Average hourly temperature in Sneek

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

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

Sneek 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 / 6813.11.27.90.1
Feb / 5310.81.79.50.2
Mar / 5211.60.811.51.4
Apr12° / 459.7013.63.2
May16° / 6311.2015.54.7
Jun18° / 12°7212.1016.65.5
Jul20° / 14°8813.6016.25.9
Aug20° / 15°9214.3014.55.7
Sep18° / 12°7812.5012.45.2
Oct13° / 7914.1010.33.4
Nov / 6814.10.18.41.6
Dec / 7514.11.47.40.4

Chance of rain

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

Sneek gets about 833 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 7.1 months, from around Jun 23 to Jan 25, peaking in November at about 49% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Apr 13.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 92 mm over about 14 wet days; April is the driest, with 45 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetNov 10 · 49%Apr 13 · 31%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4213
Feb3911
Mar3712
Apr3210
May3611
Jun4112
Jul4314
Aug4614
Sep4313
Oct4614
Nov4714
Dec4514

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Sneek collects about 833 mm of rain across 151 wet days — roughly 69 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 92 mm, while April is the driest at just 45 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 31% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec685352456372889278796875
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan68131
Feb53112
Mar52121
Apr45100
May63110
Jun72120
Jul88140
Aug92140
Sep78130
Oct79140
Nov68140
Dec75141

Snow in Sneek

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.

Sneek averages about 5 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Nov 28 to Mar 18 — about 3.6 months.

February is snowiest, with roughly 1.8 days of snow and an estimated 6 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 17 cm of snow.

01234JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonFeb 3
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan13
Feb26
Mar12
Apr00
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct00
Nov01
Dec15

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Sneek, 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 20 and lasts for 6.1 months, ending around September 21. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 45% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 22 and lasts for 5.9 months, ending around March 19. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 75% 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 · 49%Nov 27 · 25%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2674
Feb3070
Mar3565
Apr4555
May4258
Jun4060
Jul4555
Aug4456
Sep3763
Oct3169
Nov2674
Dec2575

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 16, brings about 16 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 16, only 7 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 9 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan7.98:514:42
Feb9.58:085:36
Mar11.57:036:31
Apr13.65:477:28
May15.54:478:21
Jun16.64:188:57
Jul16.24:368:50
Aug14.55:257:58
Sep12.46:196:44
Oct10.37:145:31
Nov8.48:124:33
Dec7.48:534:14

Sunny days

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

Sneek averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 3 and 8 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 5.3 months, from around Mar 14 to Aug 20. The sunniest month is May, with roughly 8 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is November, down near 4 sunny days — about 49% fewer than the May peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedMay 138 daysNov 273 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan4Gloomy
Feb4Gloomy
Mar6Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May8Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul8Gloomy
Aug6Gloomy
Sep5Gloomy
Oct5Gloomy
Nov4Gloomy
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 Sneek, how humid it feels changes dramatically over the year.

The more humid part of the year lasts 3.2 months, from around June 12 to September 17. The muggiest month is August, when the air feels humid, muggy or worse about 25% of the time.

The most comfortable stretch runs from around September 18 to June 11, and April 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%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecApr 18 · 100%Aug 3 · 70%humiddrycomfortablecomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May92710
Jun672660
Jul3444192
Aug3243223
Sep652960
Oct901000
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 Sneek is typically light breeze, near 19 km/h, and varies moderately with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 5.6 months, from around Oct 9 to Mar 27. The windiest month is January, averaging about 22 km/h (breezy).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Mar 28 to Oct 8, with July the calmest month at about 16 km/h.

051015202530JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezywindyJan 8 · 23 km/hJul 30 · 15 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan22breezy
Feb21breezy
Mar20light breeze
Apr17light breeze
May17light breeze
Jun17light breeze
Jul16light breeze
Aug16light breeze
Sep18light breeze
Oct20light breeze
Nov21breezy
Dec22breezy

Best time to visit Sneek

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around late May, Sneek 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 Sneek 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 31 · 6.1

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
Jan0.1poor
Feb0.2poor
Mar1.4poor
Apr3.2poor
May4.7fair
Jun5.5fair
Jul5.9good
Aug5.7good
Sep5.1fair
Oct3.4poor
Nov1.6poor
Dec0.4poor

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 Sneek 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 · 3.8

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 Sneek, 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 20°C), the essentials are rain gear. In the cold season around January (highs near 5°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat, rain gear and a windbreaker.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In August, Sneek sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 15°C. Pack rain gear. About 14 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Sneek

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 22 km away) is warmest in August at about 19°C and coldest in February near 5°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan6Bracing
Feb5Bracing
Mar6Bracing
Apr9Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun15Cool
Jul18Cool
Aug19Cool
Sep17Cool
Oct14Bracing
Nov11Bracing
Dec8Bracing

UV index (midday) in Sneek 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 Sneek peaks around June 23 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. 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 6 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateHighModerateLowJun 23UV 6Jan 1UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan1Low
Feb1Low
Mar3Moderate
Apr3Moderate
May5High
Jun6High
Jul6High
Aug6High
Sep4Moderate
Oct2Low
Nov1Low
Dec1Low

Average hourly UV index in Sneek

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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 7 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended). 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
Mar00
Apr2.50
May6.50
Jun70
Jul70
Aug6.50
Sep3.50
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayReliably frost-free (≥90%)

Sneek is mild enough that a frost-free day stays more likely than not even in midwinter. Nights are reliably above freezing from about March 23 to November 22 (245 days); outside that window a hard frost is an occasional risk.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecreliably frost-freeMar 2390%Nov 2290%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan6731
Feb6728
Mar8627
Apr980
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct990
Nov9310
Dec7631

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. Sneek banks about 863 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around August.

02004006008001,000JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr3
May75
Jun152
Jul226
Aug229
Sep143
Oct36
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.

Sneek receives about 3.0 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.5 and 5.5 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.8 months, from around Mar 23 to Sep 15. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.5 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.5 kWh/m² — roughly 90% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 285.5 kWhDec 220.5 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.7Dim
Feb1.4Dim
Mar2.7Moderate
Apr4.4Bright
May5.3Bright
Jun5.5Bright
Jul5.4Bright
Aug4.5Bright
Sep3.0Moderate
Oct1.7Dim
Nov0.8Dim
Dec0.5Dim

Where is Sneek?

Sneek sits at 53.0°N, 5.7°E, 6 m above sea level, in The Netherlands. The nearest listed city is Heerenveen, 19 km away.

HeerenveenLeeuwardenHarlingenDrachtenEmmeloordSteenwijkUrkGiethoorn

Topography around Sneek

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sneek has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 11 m around an average of 0 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 28 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 87 m.

The land around Sneek is covered by grassland (55%) and artificial surfaces (23%) within 3 km, grassland (77%) within 16 km, and water (45%) and grassland (30%) within 80 km.

3 km
11 m
16 km
28 m
80 km
87 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Heerenveen 19 km · Leeuwarden 21 km · Harlingen 22 km · Drachten 31 km · Emmeloord 36 km · Steenwijk 41 km · Urk 41 km · Giethoorn 43 km

The Netherlands travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 84% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$73,684
2025
Happiness
7.2 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
0.7
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
4
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 624
Religion
none 54%Roman Catholic 20%Protestant 15%other 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 Sneek (53.033°, 5.6589°, elevation 6 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. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).