Typical Summer Weather in Austria

Austria is situated in Central Europe and as such, enjoys a largely temperate Central European climate characterised by four familiar seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter. Winters in Austria can often be unforgiving, as is the case with most of Central Europe. This is a general overview of Austrian weather, but of course the weather patterns can be quite different in different regions of the country. 

Summers last from May until September, and peak summer is considered to be around the months of August and July. The weather during this time is typically mild and pleasant, so most holiday makers consider this the best time to visit. The temperature range is quite wide though, and average summer temperatures can be in the range of 20°C and 35°C depending on where you are. 

The Alpine region has the coldest and generally the harshest climate in Austria, and temperatures even during summer months rarely go above freezing. Rainfall can be significant in the Alps in summer, and summers generally tend to be quite short in Alpine Austria. 

The eastern part of Austria lies in a different climatic region, technically called the Continental Pannonian climate, which sees cold winters, although milder than the Alps, hot summer months and moderate rainfall throughout the year. So if you’re visiting Vienna in summer, do expect mild weather and some rainfall. 

Western Austria is more temperate and certainly milder in summer months than eastern Austria. So a visit to the Salzburg festival in July can be a highly sweaty affair. Well I must admit that’s a bit of a hyperbole, but July is peak summer, and does get rather warm. 

Although Austria largely comprises of mountains, in general peak summer months have pleasant and mild weather suitable for most holiday activities; except of course, winter sports like skiing, for which winter months work best. Austria is quite a varied terrain, and the summer weather can change as per the location and altitude.