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Dortmund, the largest city of the Ruhr region, sits in western Germany on the northern edge of the Ruhr industrial belt, at the foot of the Sauerland hills at approximately 51.51°N, 7.47°E. It has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — mild, cloudy and changeable, influenced by Atlantic air — with warm summers, mild winters and rain spread through every month of the year.
Summer, from June to August, is warm and pleasant, with July the warmest month — average highs around 23–24°C — and occasional heatwaves that can push temperatures into the mid-30s. It is a changeable season, with thundery showers frequent, but it brings the most sunshine and the longest days of the year, and the nearby Sauerland hills can enhance summer downpours.
Winter, from December to February, is mild and damp rather than severe, with January the coolest month — average highs around 5°C and lows near 0–1°C. Frost is common on clear nights, but lasting snow is relatively infrequent in the city, though the higher Sauerland just to the south sees far more. The season is more often grey, wet and drizzly than icy.
Dortmund receives around 750–800 mm of precipitation a year, spread through every month with a modest summer maximum from thundery showers; the rising ground of the Sauerland to the south wrings extra rain from incoming Atlantic systems. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Dortmund's weather is typical of the Ruhr and the Rhineland — mild, damp and changeable, dominated by Atlantic depressions that keep the skies frequently overcast. Its position at the foot of the Sauerland hills means incoming weather systems are lifted as they meet the rising ground, enhancing rainfall, while the hills to the south hold snow far longer than the milder lowland city.
To follow any single measurement in Dortmund more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.