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Palermo, the capital of Sicily, sits on the island's northwestern coast on the Tyrrhenian Sea, on a fertile coastal plain ringed by mountains at approximately 38.12°N, 13.36°E. It has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csa) — hot, dry summers and exceptionally mild, wetter winters — among the mildest and sunniest in Italy, moderated by the surrounding sea.
Summer, from June to September, is hot, dry and sunny, with July and August the hottest — average highs around 30–31°C — tempered by sea breezes, though the scirocco blowing from North Africa can push temperatures past 40°C in short, oppressive bursts. Rain is essentially absent for months, and the long, cloudless days make it the peak beach season.
Winter, from December to February, is exceptionally mild — among the warmest in Italy — with January the coolest month, average highs around 15–16°C and mild nights near 9–10°C; even the coldest winter mornings rarely fall below 2°C. Most of the year's rain falls in these months, along with occasional stormy spells, but sunshine remains plentiful.
Palermo is dry, receiving only around 600–650 mm of rain a year, almost all of it between October and March in occasional heavy bursts, while the long summer is essentially rainless; the surrounding sea and sheltering mountains keep sunshine hours very high. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Palermo's winters are among the mildest in Europe, with frost effectively unknown on the coast. Its most dramatic weather is the scirocco, a hot, dry, dust-laden wind blowing up from the Sahara that can send summer temperatures soaring past 40°C — the same North African influence that has given Sicily Europe's official record high of 48.8°C, recorded near Syracuse in 2021.
To follow any single measurement in Palermo 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.