Skopje climate
Skopje is warmest in August, with average highs of 31 °C, and coldest in January, when nights average -2.0 °C. December is the wettest month (59 mm) and August the driest (23 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.
Across a full year Skopje averages 531 mm of rain, 113 days above 25 °C and 60 days below freezing.
North Macedonia · population 474,889 · 1991–2020 normals
Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month
- Warmest month August 31 °C
- Coldest month January -2.0 °C
- Driest month August 23 mm
- Wettest month December 59 mm
- Least cloud August 26 % cloud
- Hottest on record July 43 °C
- Coldest on record January -24 °C
What to expectSkopje through the year
Skopje has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 6.1 °C in January to 31 °C in August, a swing of 23 °C in mean temperature across the year.
Counted across a normal year, 113 days a year reach 25 °C, 54 of them reach 30 °C, 60 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 43 °C, in July.
Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 23 mm in August to 59 mm in December. There is no dry season to aim for.
Month by month
| Month | Avg high | Rainfall | Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.1 °C | 46 mm | 58 % |
| February | 8.6 °C | 43 mm | 59 % |
| March | 13.2 °C | 55 mm | 56 % |
| April | 18.2 °C | 56 mm | 54 % |
| May | 23.2 °C | 50 mm | 52 % |
| June | 28.0 °C | 37 mm | 38 % |
| July | 30.9 °C | 25 mm | 28 % |
| August | 31.2 °C | 23 mm | 26 % |
| September | 25.6 °C | 33 mm | 41 % |
| October | 19.3 °C | 50 mm | 50 % |
| November | 12.5 °C | 54 mm | 59 % |
| December | 7.0 °C | 59 mm | 61 % |
Temperature month by month
| Month | Avg high | Avg low | Mean | Record high | Record low | Days above 25 °C | Days above 30 °C | Days below 0 °C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 6.1 °C | -2.0 °C | 1.9 °C | 17.2 °C | -23.7 °C | 0 | 0 | 20 |
| February | 8.6 °C | -0.2 °C | 4.0 °C | 20.6 °C | -19.2 °C | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| March | 13.2 °C | 2.7 °C | 8.0 °C | 25.7 °C | -16.5 °C | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| April | 18.2 °C | 6.9 °C | 12.9 °C | 31.5 °C | -8.6 °C | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| May | 23.2 °C | 11.7 °C | 17.9 °C | 35.1 °C | 3.9 °C | 11 | 2 | 0 |
| June | 28.0 °C | 15.9 °C | 22.5 °C | 40.1 °C | 7.4 °C | 22 | 10 | 0 |
| July | 30.9 °C | 18.3 °C | 25.1 °C | 42.5 °C | 11.6 °C | 28 | 18 | 0 |
| August | 31.2 °C | 18.5 °C | 25.2 °C | 40.3 °C | 11.2 °C | 29 | 20 | 0 |
| September | 25.6 °C | 14.2 °C | 20.0 °C | 36.3 °C | 3.1 °C | 17 | 5 | 0 |
| October | 19.3 °C | 9.2 °C | 14.2 °C | 33.2 °C | -1.3 °C | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| November | 12.5 °C | 4.0 °C | 8.1 °C | 25.2 °C | -20.3 °C | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| December | 7.0 °C | -0.4 °C | 3.1 °C | 18.9 °C | -20.9 °C | 0 | 0 | 16 |
Rain, sun and wind month by month
| Month | Rainfall | Wet days | Daylight | Cloud cover | Humidity | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 46 mm | 8 | 9.5 h/day | 58 % | 75 % | 8.8 km/h |
| February | 43 mm | 7 | 11 h/day | 59 % | 71 % | 10 km/h |
| March | 55 mm | 9 | 12 h/day | 56 % | 67 % | 11 km/h |
| April | 56 mm | 10 | 13 h/day | 54 % | 64 % | 11 km/h |
| May | 50 mm | 10 | 15 h/day | 52 % | 64 % | 10 km/h |
| June | 37 mm | 7 | 15 h/day | 38 % | 59 % | 10 km/h |
| July | 25 mm | 5 | 15 h/day | 28 % | 52 % | 11 km/h |
| August | 23 mm | 4 | 14 h/day | 26 % | 51 % | 9.8 km/h |
| September | 33 mm | 6 | 13 h/day | 41 % | 59 % | 9.4 km/h |
| October | 50 mm | 6 | 11 h/day | 50 % | 69 % | 9.0 km/h |
| November | 54 mm | 8 | 9.8 h/day | 59 % | 76 % | 8.7 km/h |
| December | 59 mm | 9 | 9.1 h/day | 61 % | 77 % | 8.7 km/h |
Where Skopje ranks
| Ranking | Position | Value |
|---|---|---|
| The warmest places in Europe in May | 18th of 50 | 23 °C |
| The warmest places in Europe in August | 20th of 50 | 31 °C |
| The warmest places in Europe in June | 20th of 50 | 28 °C |
| The warmest places in Europe in July | 21st of 50 | 31 °C |
| Places with the best weather in Europe in September | 26th of 50 | 94/100 |
| The warmest places in Europe in April | 27th of 50 | 18 °C |
Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Skopje.
QuestionsCommon questions about Skopje’s climate
When is the best time to visit Skopje?
That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. May, June, September sit closest to 20 °C on average, August is the warmest month and August the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.
How hot does Skopje get?
In August, the warmest month, daily highs average 31 °C. About 54 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 43 °C.
How cold does it get in winter?
Nights average -2.0 °C in January, the coldest month. A normal year has 60 nights below freezing.
Which month is wettest in Skopje?
December, averaging 59 mm over 9 days with rain. The driest month is August with 23 mm. The year as a whole averages 531 mm.
Are these figures a forecast?
No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Skopje rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.
Data sources and method
- ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
- Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
- NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
- GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0
- Normal period
- 1991–2020
- Data point
- 41.996°, 21.431° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
- Dataset version
- era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
- Last processed
Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.
Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.