Zwolle in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Zwolle sees average daytime highs around 6°C and overnight lows near 1°C, with 188 mm of precipitation over about 37 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 13% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Zwolle's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Zwolle's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 6°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 1°C
- Precipitation
- 188 mm
- 37 wet days
- Avg wind
- 17 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.3
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Zwolle in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C.
A typical winter day in Zwolle reaches about 6°C and drops to 1°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest February.
How winter really feels in Zwolle
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.
Zwolle 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 | 5° / 1° | 66 | 12.9 | 1.4 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Feb | 6° / 1° | 53 | 10.7 | 1.8 | 9.5 | 0.4 |
| Mar | 9° / 3° | 56 | 11.6 | 0.9 | 11.5 | 1.9 |
| Apr | 14° / 5° | 50 | 10.5 | 0.1 | 13.6 | 3.8 |
| May | 17° / 9° | 64 | 11.7 | 0 | 15.5 | 5.3 |
| Jun | 20° / 12° | 69 | 12 | 0 | 16.5 | 5.8 |
| Jul | 22° / 14° | 85 | 14.5 | 0 | 16.1 | 6.0 |
| Aug | 22° / 14° | 81 | 13.9 | 0 | 14.5 | 5.9 |
| Sep | 18° / 11° | 66 | 11.6 | 0 | 12.4 | 5.5 |
| Oct | 14° / 8° | 64 | 12 | 0 | 10.3 | 3.7 |
| Nov | 9° / 5° | 59 | 12.7 | 0.3 | 8.5 | 1.6 |
| Dec | 6° / 2° | 70 | 13 | 1.6 | 7.5 | 0.4 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 13% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Zwolle gets around 188 mm of rain and snow over 37 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 48 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 Zwolle?
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 Zwolle.
What to pack for Zwolle in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Zwolle sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 1°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 37 days see rain.
UV index in Zwolle 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 Zwolle peaks around July 14 at about 6 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. 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 | High | 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 | High |
| Jun | 6 | High |
| Jul | 6 | High |
| Aug | 6 | High |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 2 | Moderate |
| Nov | 1 | Low |
| Dec | 1 | Low |
Where is Zwolle?
Zwolle sits at 52.5°N, 6.1°E, 9 m above sea level, in The Netherlands. The nearest listed city is Dalfsen, 11 km away.
Topography around Zwolle
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Zwolle.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Zwolle has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 25 m around an average of 3 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 66 m; within 80 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 135 m.
The land around Zwolle is covered by artificial surfaces (43%), trees (28%) and grassland (23%) within 3 km, grassland (62%) within 16 km, and grassland (41%), trees (21%) and cropland (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 Zwolle (52.5125°, 6.0944°, elevation 9 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.