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Sofia weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Sofia sits in a high, mountain-ringed basin below Vitosha, one of Europe's loftiest capitals, where altitude tempers the summers and the surrounding peaks trap winter cold and haze. Sofia weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, extremes and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

+0.8°Chigh near average

17° / 9°Today
16° / 6°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+2.1°Caverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–4966frost days a year now (2016–2025) · 109 in the 1940sfrost days a year · 109 in the 1940s32days above 30°C a year now (2016–2025) · 13 in the 1940sdays above 30°C · 13 in the 1940s+2.1°C vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 46 mmhigh 4°low −5°February, rain 42 mmhigh 6°low −3°March, rain 55 mmhigh 11°low 1°April, rain 66 mmhigh 16°low 6°May, rain 77 mmhigh 21°low 10°June, rain 74 mmhigh 24°low 14°July, rain 54 mmhigh 27°low 15°August, rain 39 mmhigh 27°low 15°September, rain 36 mmhigh 23°low 12°October, rain 44 mmhigh 17°low 7°November, rain 51 mmhigh 11°low 2°December, rain 50 mmhigh 5°low −2°wettest month May, 77 mm · 634 mm a yearsee month by month →

Right now

What it's doing today vs the historical average for this date.
Partly cloudy

Right now

9.5°

7°feels like
70%humidity
4°dew point
10 km/hfrom SW
UV index0.0
sunrise07:44sunset18:38day length10h 54m
TodayMostly clear17°9°
TueOvercast18°7°
WedClear20°9°
ThuOvercast16°11°
FriOvercast15°8°
SatClear16°2°
SunOvercast15°6°

On this date: October 19

Today (forecast)
17° / 9°
Average for October 19
16° / 6°

High near average · +0.8°C

  • Highest since 1940: 26.0° · 2019
  • Lowest since 1940: −1.7° · 1997
  • One year ago: 14° / 5°

Every October 19 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 19 on record (n = 86). Outlined dots are today's forecast.

Area we sample

Each city's history comes from one ERA5 grid cell, about 28 km across, shown by the dashed box. Near mountains or coasts, conditions can vary across the cell.

Location & data

Historical weather for Sofia is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 42.70°N, 23.32°E, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
42.70°N, 23.32°E
Time zone
Europe/Sofia
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

9 of the last 30 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: −1.0°C.

Each bar is one day, from morning low to afternoon high. Warm-colored bars are days whose mean ran above average; cool bars ran below. The dot inside the bar is the daily mean. The shaded band is the typical 10–90% range expected for that date. Average = the day's mean temperature averaged across every year of record (1940–2026) for that calendar date.

This date over the years

One dot per year, showing the mean temperature on this calendar date. Dots are warmer or cooler than the long-term average (dashed line); the shaded band is the typical 10–90% range, and the highlighted dot is today's forecast. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Weather by month

Average temperatures and rainfall for each month: a typical year, from the full record.

Climate overview

Sofia spreads across a high valley in western Bulgaria, ringed by the Balkan Mountains to the north and Vitosha to the south. At roughly 500 to 700 metres it is one of the highest capitals in Europe, and the altitude shows in the climate: a humid continental regime (Köppen Dfb) with cold, snowy winters and warm, sunny summers that stay cooler than the lowlands elsewhere in the country.

The same ring of mountains that frames the city also boxes in its air. In calm, settled weather, temperature inversions trap cold air and pollutants down in the basin, and Sofia ends up with some of the worst air quality of any European capital. Spring and autumn are short and changeable, brief hinges between the long, cold winter and the warm heart of summer.

The warmest month is July, with typical afternoon highs of 26.8°C and nights around 15.5°C. In a typical recent year, around 30 days reach 30°C or more. The coolest month is January, when afternoons reach about 3.6°C and overnight lows sit around −4.6°C.

The yearly total for Sofia comes to about 634 mm; monthly amounts range from 36 mm in September up to 77 mm in May.

The record here starts in 1940, and since then the annual mean in Sofia has climbed 2.1°C from the first ten years to the last ten. Where the first decade averaged 110 frost days a year, the recent one saw about 65.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgbritannica.com

Climate graph (climograph)

July is the warmest month, January the coolest: a yearly swing of 22°C. Wettest month: May (~77 mm). Whole year averages ~634 mm of rain.

Bars = average monthly rainfall (right axis). Lines = average daily high and low (left axis). Average = each month's value averaged across every year of record (1940–2026).

Rainy days by month

About 87 rainy days a year: most in May (~11), fewest in September (~4).

Bars = average number of days with ≥ 2 mm per month. Hover for the monthly rainfall total.

Monthly wind

Average daily peak wind at 10 m, by month.

Monthly solar energy

Average daily incoming solar energy in megajoules per square metre: the record's own proxy for how sunny the month is.

Sofia month by month: what to expect

Typical conditions for each month, averaged across the full record (since 1940). Daylight is the time from sunrise to sunset. Highest and Lowest are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightHighestLowest
January3.6°−4.6°46 mm79.2 h17.2° (2023)−28.3° (1942)
February6.4°−2.6°42 mm610.3 h20.6° (1977)−22.6° (1985)
March10.7°1.1°55 mm811.7 h30.3° (1952)−19.8° (1940)
April16.1°5.8°66 mm913.2 h29.8° (1985)−9.2° (1940)
May20.8°10.4°77 mm1114.4 h32.1° (2008)0.7° (1978)
June24.4°13.8°74 mm1015.1 h36.5° (1982)5.6° (2020)
July26.8°15.5°54 mm714.8 h39.8° (2007)7.5° (1974)
August27.3°15.4°39 mm513.7 h37.4° (1993)5.9° (1940)
September23.3°11.9°36 mm412.3 h36.0° (1946)−2.4° (1977)
October17.4°6.9°44 mm510.8 h31.8° (1952)−4.5° (1997)
November10.8°2.3°51 mm79.5 h24.3° (2021)−21.9° (1941)
December5.3°−2.1°50 mm78.9 h18.4° (1957)−27.4° (1941)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +2.1°C.

Each vertical stripe is one year. Color encodes how much that year's annual mean differed from the long-term average. Average = each year's annual mean compared to the average of all years (1940–2026). cooler ← → warmer

Annual mean temperature

Long-term trend: +0.23°C per decade.

One point per year, showing the temperature averaged across the whole year. The dashed line is the least-squares long-term trend. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Seasonal warming

Dec–Feb is warming fastest: +0.40°C per decade.

Each faint line is one three-month period's average per year; the bold dashed line is its long-term trend. Different parts of the year often warm at different rates. Based on ERA5 reanalysis: modelled estimates, not station readings.

Hot days vs frost days

Days ≥ 30°C per year: 12.7 early in the record → 31.9 recently. Frost days: 109 → 66.

Thin lines are raw yearly counts; thick lines are the smoothed trend that removes year-to-year noise. The hot-day threshold is auto-picked per city so the line actually moves. Average = a centered 5-year rolling average to smooth weather noise.

Yearly hot & cold extremes

Hottest day since 1940 in 2007, coldest in 1942: 39.8°C / −28.3°C.

One point per year: the single hottest and coldest day recorded that year.

Annual rainfall

~634 mm/year on average. Last decade: +3% vs that average. Long-term trend: +5 mm per decade.

One bar per year of total rainfall. Dashed line is the long-term average. Average = the average annual rainfall across every year of record (1940–2026).

Day-by-day grid

Each tiny square is one calendar day across the full record, about 30,000 days per city. Use the mode switch above the chart: Anomaly colors each day by how far it ran from the historical average for that date (red = warmer, blue = cooler), Daily mean temp shows the absolute mean temperature for the day (useful to see seasons and heatwaves), and Precipitation shows daily rainfall (useful to spot wet/dry seasons and droughts). Average = the long-term average for that calendar date (1940–2026).

Frequently asked questions about Sofia

Which is the warmest month in Sofia?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Sofia is July (mean daily temperature of about 21.3°C) and the coolest is January (about −0.5°C).
How does today's temperature in Sofia compare to the historical average?
On October 19, 2026, Sofia is forecast to reach a high of 17.1°C and a low of 9.4°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 16.3°C and a low of 5.9°C, so today's high is 0.8°C warmer than that average.
How much has Sofia warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Sofia is about 2.1°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Sofia?
Sofia receives about 634 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with May typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Sofia?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Sofia is about 11.0°C. The warmest month is July and the coolest is January.
What are the average temperatures in Sofia by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Sofia (°C, full record since 1940): January 4°/−5°, February 6°/−3°, March 11°/1°, April 16°/6°, May 21°/10°, June 24°/14°, July 27°/15°, August 27°/15°, September 23°/12°, October 17°/7°, November 11°/2°, December 5°/−2°.
What is the weather like in Sofia in summer?
June to August is summer in Sofia, and it is warm. Expect 24–27°C by day and 14–15°C at night, with August the warmest month. Rain falls off from 74 mm on 10 days in June to 39 mm on 5 days in August.
What is the weather like in Sofia in winter?
In winter, December through February, Sofia is cold. Daytime highs sit at 4–6°C and nights at −5 to −2°C; January is the coldest month. Rain falls on about 7 days a month, adding up to around 46 mm.
What is the weather like in Sofia in spring?
In spring, March through May, Sofia is fairly mild. March is still 11°C in the afternoon and 1°C at night, May already 21°C and 10°C. Rain is steady at around 66 mm a month, spread over roughly 9 days.
What is the weather like in Sofia in autumn?
In autumn, September through November, Sofia is fairly mild. September is still 23°C by day and 12°C at night; by November it is down to 11°C and 2°C. Rain falls on about 5 days a month, adding up to around 43 mm.
How many days a year does it rain in Sofia?
On long-term average, Sofia has about 87 days a year with at least 2 mm of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 634 mm.

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