May brings 28°C daytime highs, 20mm of precipitation across about 2 wet days and 14.1 hours of daylight — best for beach days, swimming and reliable sunshine. The strongest run of the year is April to June. January is the quietest month: quiet and local, and still good for hiking, cycling and low-angle light.
Long-run climate normals for Palermo. Month ratings compare months within Palermo only — they are not a ranking of Palermo against other destinations, and they are not a forecast for a specific year.
Last updated: · Live forecast data refreshes hourly.
| Best month | May — Beach days, Swimming, Reliable sunshine |
| Best 3-month window | April–June |
| Quietest month | January — Quiet and local |
| Driest month | July — 3mm |
| Wettest month | November — 95mm |
| Warmest / coolest | July 35°C / February 15°C |
| Seasonality | Fairly even across the year |
| Annual rainfall | 600mm over roughly 55 rain days |
January gets roughly 300% more precipitation than May — 80mm against 20mm. That difference, more than temperature, is what changes how a day here feels.
Daytime highs only move 20°C across the whole year (15–35°C), so timing matters far less here than rainfall does.
June gives you 14.6 hours of daylight against just 9.4 in December — a 5-hour difference in how much you can actually fit into a day.
July is the driest month at 3mm across roughly 1 wet days, while November peaks at 95mm.
June is almost as good as May, but usually quieter and cheaper. If your dates are flexible, it is the easier trip.
Palermo stays fairly consistent all year, so there is no month you need to avoid. What you plan to do matters more than when you go.
Ratings compare months within Palermo, not against destinations worldwide: five stars means the best time to be here, not that Palermo beats anywhere else. Tags describe what the conditions actually suit.
| Month | Rating | High / Low | Precipitation | Wet days | Sun | Daylight | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | ★★☆☆☆ | 15°C / 8°C | 80mm | 8 | 5h | 9.6h | Hiking · Cycling · Low-angle light |
| February | ★★☆☆☆ | 15°C / 8°C | 65mm | 6 | 5h | 10.6h | Hiking · Cycling · Low-angle light |
| March | ★★★☆☆ | 18°C / 10°C | 50mm | 5 | 5h | 11.8h | Hiking · Cycling · Spring greenery |
| April | ★★★★★ | 22°C / 12°C | 40mm | 4 | 6h | 13h | Hiking · Cycling |
| May | ★★★★★ | 28°C / 15°C | 20mm | 2 | 10h | 14.1h | Beach days · Swimming · Reliable sunshine |
| June | ★★★★★ | 32°C / 17°C | 5mm | 1 | 11h | 14.6h | Beach days · Swimming · Reliable sunshine |
| July | ★★★★☆ | 35°C / 19°C | 3mm | 1 | 11h | 14.4h | Beach days · Swimming · Reliable sunshine |
| August | ★★★★☆ | 35°C / 19°C | 8mm | 1 | 11h | 13.4h | Beach days · Swimming · Reliable sunshine |
| September | ★★★☆☆ | 32°C / 17°C | 35mm | 3 | 7h | 12.2h | Beach days · Swimming |
| October | ★★☆☆☆ | 28°C / 15°C | 80mm | 8 | 4h | 11h | Beach days · Swimming · Low-angle light |
| November | ★★☆☆☆ | 22°C / 12°C | 95mm | 9 | 4h | 9.9h | Hiking · Cycling · Low-angle light |
| December | ★★☆☆☆ | 18°C / 10°C | 85mm | 8 | 3h | 9.4h | Hiking · Cycling · Low-angle light |
| You are planning | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sun & beach days | June | 11h daily sunshine, 32°C highs and only 1 rain days. |
| City walking & sightseeing | April | 22°C highs with 13h of daylight — long days without heat fatigue. |
| Photography & light | June | 11h of sun and 14.6h daylight give the widest window for golden-hour work. |
| Value & fewer crowds | July | Scores 80/100 — close to peak conditions but outside the busiest window. |
| Cooler-weather travel | February | 15°C highs and 8°C nights suit anyone who dislikes heat. |
Each month in Palermo is described from long-run climate normals and then rated relative to the other eleven months in the same city. A five-star January in a cold destination means January is one of the best times to be there — not that it beats a Mediterranean summer.
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Described | Average daytime high and overnight low for the month, shown as measured rather than judged. |
| Precipitation | Described | Monthly millimetres and wet-day count, labelled as snow or rain/snow where temperatures make that the likely phase. |
| Sunshine & daylight | Described | Average daily sunshine hours and astronomical daylight length at mid-month, from the city’s latitude. |
| “Best for” tags | Derived | Applied only when the conditions genuinely support the activity — snow depth-friendly cold for skiing, 13–24°C and low rain risk for hiking, dark evenings at high latitude for aurora. A month with few strong use cases gets fewer tags rather than padded ones. |
| Star rating | Relative | Ranks the month against the other eleven months in the same city. Never a comparison between cities. |
Figures are long-run climate averages, not a forecast for a specific year. Where a month lacks sourced rainfall or humidity, the value is modelled from temperature range and rain frequency.
May is the best all-round month in Palermo: 28°C highs, 20mm of precipitation and 14.1 hours of daylight, which suits beach days, swimming and reliable sunshine. The strongest three-month window is April to June.
January — 15°C highs, 80mm of precipitation over roughly 8 days and 9.6 hours of daylight. It is the cheapest and least crowded time to go, and it still works for hiking, cycling and low-angle light.
July is the driest month at 3mm over about 1 rain days, against 95mm in November. Across the year Palermo records around 600mm.
Yes — conditions in Palermo stay fairly even all year, so there is no month you need to avoid. What you plan to do matters more than when you go.
Daylight ranges from 9.4 hours in December to 14.6 hours in June, calculated from the city's latitude.