Utrecht in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Utrecht sees average daytime highs around 6°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 186 mm of precipitation over about 36 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Utrecht's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Utrecht's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 6°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 2°C
- Precipitation
- 186 mm
- 36 wet days
- Avg wind
- 17 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.5
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Utrecht in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C.
A typical winter day in Utrecht reaches about 6°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest February.
How winter really feels in Utrecht
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Utrecht weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6° / 2° | 63 | 12.3 | 1.2 | 8 | 0.3 |
| Feb | 7° / 2° | 53 | 10.8 | 1.3 | 9.6 | 0.6 |
| Mar | 10° / 3° | 55 | 11.2 | 0.6 | 11.5 | 2.1 |
| Apr | 14° / 6° | 49 | 11.1 | 0 | 13.6 | 3.8 |
| May | 17° / 9° | 60 | 11.7 | 0 | 15.4 | 5.3 |
| Jun | 20° / 12° | 65 | 11.1 | 0 | 16.4 | 5.9 |
| Jul | 22° / 14° | 80 | 13.9 | 0 | 16 | 6.1 |
| Aug | 22° / 14° | 78 | 12.5 | 0 | 14.4 | 6.1 |
| Sep | 19° / 11° | 65 | 11.7 | 0 | 12.4 | 5.6 |
| Oct | 14° / 8° | 64 | 11.9 | 0 | 10.4 | 3.9 |
| Nov | 10° / 5° | 62 | 12.4 | 0.3 | 8.5 | 1.8 |
| Dec | 6° / 2° | 70 | 13.1 | 1.3 | 7.6 | 0.6 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Utrecht gets around 186 mm of rain and snow over 36 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 17 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 7 h 54 min in early December to 10 h 24 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 0.9 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Utrecht?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Utrecht.
What to pack for Utrecht in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Utrecht sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 36 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Utrecht in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 7°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 51 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 6 | 5 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6 | Bracing |
| Feb | 5 | Bracing |
| Mar | 6 | Bracing |
| Apr | 9 | Bracing |
| May | 12 | Bracing |
| Jun | 15 | Bracing |
| Jul | 18 | Cool |
| Aug | 19 | Cool |
| Sep | 18 | Cool |
| Oct | 15 | Bracing |
| Nov | 11 | Bracing |
| Dec | 8 | Bracing |
UV index in Utrecht in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 1. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Utrecht peaks around July 15 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near December 21 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Level | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 1 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 3 | Moderate |
| Apr | 4 | Moderate |
| May | 5 | Moderate |
| Jun | 6 | High |
| Jul | 6 | High |
| Aug | 6 | High |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 2 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Where is Utrecht?
Utrecht sits at 52.1°N, 5.1°E, 13 m above sea level, in The Netherlands. The nearest listed city is Leidsche Rijn, 5.0 km away.
Topography around Utrecht
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Utrecht.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Utrecht has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 23 m around an average of 5 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 75 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 139 m.
The land around Utrecht is covered by artificial surfaces (61%) and trees (29%) within 3 km, grassland (43%) and trees (31%) within 16 km, and grassland (33%) and water (20%) within 80 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
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 Utrecht (52.0908°, 5.1222°, elevation 13 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.