What the numbers mean for a trip
Prague has four real seasons: summer highs of 23-25 °C with the heaviest rain of the year, and winters around freezing. May and September are the two months that get everything right.
- Summer is warm and, counter-intuitively, the wettest part of the year - June, July and August average 77-81 mm, mostly from thunderstorms.
- Winter hovers around freezing: 3-5 °C by day and -3 to -1 °C at night in December, January and February, with snow that comes and goes rather than settling all season.
- May and September are the best value in weather terms - 19-20 °C by day, tolerable nights, and noticeably fewer people than in July.
- Spring and autumn shoulders are cold at the edges. March and November sit at 8-9 °C by day and just above freezing at night; the city is beautiful and the outdoor seating is not.
- The rain is convective, not persistent. A summer afternoon storm is heavy and short, which suits a city you can duck into.
A continental year
Prague has the classic shape of a continental climate: a real winter, a warm summer, and two short shoulder seasons that pass quickly.
| Period | Day | Night | Rain | What it is like |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| December-February | 3-5 °C | -3 to -1 °C | 35-41 mm | Cold, often grey, sometimes snow-covered |
| March-April | 9-15 °C | 0-4 °C | 40-42 mm | Rapid change; a warm afternoon and a cold evening |
| May-August | 19-25 °C | 9-15 °C | 71-81 mm | Warm, busy, thunderstorms in the afternoons |
| September-November | 8-20 °C | 2-11 °C | 44-60 mm | Golden early, raw by the end |
The two months worth aiming for
May and September both average 19-20 °C by day with nights around 9-11 °C - warm enough to sit outside in the evening with a jacket, cool enough to spend a day walking without wilting. September is also drier than any summer month.
July and August are the warmest at 25 °C and the wettest at around 80 mm, which sounds contradictory and is not: the rain comes from afternoon thunderstorms that build in the heat and pass within an hour. They are also the months when the centre is at its fullest.
Winter is worth it if you go for winter. Christmas markets and a dusting of snow on Malá Strana are the point; the daylight is short and the damp cold sits in the streets, so the trip is built around indoor stops rather than long walks.
Prague
Long-term averages for Prague: the mean daily high, the mean overnight low and the mean monthly rainfall across 30 years of ERA5 reanalysis data (1995–2024).
Show the monthly table
| Month | Day (°C) | Night (°C) | Rain (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 3 | -3 | 39 |
| February | 5 | -2 | 35 |
| March | 9 | 0 | 42 |
| April | 15 | 4 | 40 |
| May | 19 | 9 | 71 |
| June | 23 | 13 | 77 |
| July | 25 | 15 | 81 |
| August | 25 | 15 | 79 |
| September | 20 | 11 | 60 |
| October | 14 | 7 | 44 |
| November | 8 | 2 | 41 |
| December | 4 | -1 | 41 |
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