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Polish Weather for Tourists
The variable weather and its frequent anomalies, such as a 28-degree fall in temperature over 24 hours or a fall of more than 17 degrees in January, are the fault of the climate. The north and west of Poland enjoy a moderate maritime climate, with mild winters and fairly wet summers, while eastern parts have a continental climate with harsh winters and hot dry summers.
The caprices of the Polish weather are due not so much to the mild climate as to its transitory nature. What does this mean? Above our heads, masses of humid air from over the Atlantic clash with dry air from the interior of the continent. The result? A sky covered with clouds for 60–70% of the year (most often in November, least often in September).
It rains... especially in summer. The rainiest month is June, while the least rainy is February. The country’s driest region is Kujawy, while the rainiest is the Tatra mountains, where a record 30 cm rainstorm occurred in June 1973 in Hala Gasienicowa.
The Silesian plain is the warmest place on the map of Poland. Here the mild winter stays just two months, while summer lasts for 100 days. Poland’s coldest spot is Wizajny in the Suwalki region. Here the average January temperature is minus 4.5 °C, and the winter continues mercilessly for four months. In 1928 the snow lasted until June!
The Polish seasons have little to do with those marked on the calendar. The “early spring” lasts for a month from the end of February in the west or from late March around Suwalki. Spring comes to Poland from the west – the temperature rises and plants begin vegetating. The warm summer appears as early as May. After four months it is chased away by autumn. Around mid-September, an Indian summer begins – it is warm and sunny, although the trees are already shedding their leaves.
Short, grey days herald the “early winter”. Six weeks later, winter proper arrives from the north-east. In Mazovia, snow falls for 30–40 days a year, while the Tatra mountains have as many as 145 days of snowfall. But when the east wind changes and blows from the west, it is a sign that spring is again on its way…