10 years of snow depth, snowfall and conditions at Valais, Switzerland · 1620m to 3899m
Over the last 10 seasons Zermatt, Switzerland has averaged 522cm of snowfall, 8 powder days and 21 bluebird days a year, on terrain high enough that the modelled snow never melts out.
Snow history & climate
10-year averages for Zermatt
Glaciated terrain. At 2760m the modelled snow never melts out, staying above 291cm even in August. Depth figures here describe accumulated glacier firn rather than a seasonal base, so they are not comparable with resorts that clear each summer and we do not rank them. Snowfall, powder days and bluebird days are unaffected.
522 cm
Snowfall / season
Nov-May total
Year-round
Snow cover
never melts out here
8
Powder days
15cm+ in a day
21
Bluebird days
sun after snow
2
Rain days
1mm+ of rain
All season
Skiable days
30cm+ cover
Month by month
Monthly averages
Average snowfall, snow depth, rain, sunshine and day counts by month at Zermatt, over the last 10 seasons.
Month
Snowfall
Avg depth
Rain
Sun/day
Temp
Powder
Bluebird
Rain days
Jan
77 cm
805 cm
1 mm
6.5 h
-9° / -15°
1.1
2.6
0.0
Feb
48 cm
740 cm
1 mm
7.7 h
-6° / -13°
0.3
1.9
0.1
Mar
81 cm
757 cm
1 mm
8.6 h
-5° / -13°
1.2
4.0
0.3
Apr
75 cm
767 cm
1 mm
10.2 h
-2° / -10°
1.1
3.1
0.1
May
72 cm
570 cm
5 mm
10.8 h
2° / -5°
1.1
3.5
1.0
Jun
9 cm
335 cm
35 mm
12.6 h
8° / -1°
0.0
0.2
8.7
Jul
4 cm
267 cm
35 mm
13.4 h
11° / 1°
0.0
0.0
9.3
Aug
6 cm
266 cm
47 mm
12.0 h
11° / 1°
0.1
0.1
9.0
Sep
16 cm
293 cm
45 mm
9.9 h
7° / -2°
0.1
0.6
7.4
Oct
73 cm
587 cm
25 mm
7.6 h
3° / -5°
1.7
2.5
4.5
Nov
91 cm
650 cm
2 mm
6.3 h
-4° / -11°
1.6
2.6
0.6
Dec
78 cm
703 cm
1 mm
5.9 h
-7° / -13°
1.1
3.3
0.1
Averages across the last 10 seasons. Powder, bluebird and rain columns are the average number of such days per month.
Season by season
Season
Snowfall
Peak depth
Powder days
Bluebird days
Skiable days
2025/26
377 cm
3333 cm
4
14
212
2024/25
498 cm
3333 cm
6
15
212
2023/24best
784 cm
605 cm
16
28
213
2022/23
406 cm
447 cm
5
18
212
2021/22leanest
347 cm
462 cm
4
17
212
2020/21
409 cm
523 cm
5
11
212
2019/20
599 cm
544 cm
5
23
213
2018/19
582 cm
573 cm
9
23
212
2017/18
753 cm
565 cm
14
32
212
2016/17
467 cm
505 cm
7
29
212
How these numbers are calculated
Powder day — at least 15cm of new snow in 24 hours.
Bluebird day — sunshine for at least 60% of daylight, following at least 10cm of snow over the previous 3 days.
Rain day — at least 1mm of rain (not snow) at this elevation.
Skiable day — at least 30cm of settled snow on the ground.
Snow depth is modelled from Open-Meteo / ERA5 reanalysis at 2760m, not measured at the resort. Use it to compare seasons and resorts; use the resort's own report for today's conditions.
How Zermatt compares
Measured against 40 other resorts across 18 countries, each analysed exactly the same way. The line down the middle of each bar is the median.
Snowfall per season
well above average
522 cm
Ahead of 88% of resortsMedian 283 cm
Total new snow between November and May.
Snow cover
never melts out
Year-round
Not ranked
Glaciated ground, so depth is not a seasonal base.
Powder days
among the very best we track
8
Ahead of 90% of resortsMedian 2
Days with 15cm or more of new snow.
Bluebird days
well above average
21
Ahead of 88% of resortsMedian 10
Sun and fresh snow on the same day.
Rain days
well below average
2
Driest of every resort we compareMedian 32
Days with 1mm or more of rain, not snow.
Skiable days
snow all year
All season
Not ranked
Days holding 30cm or more of settled snow.
When to go
These rarely land in the same month, so it is worth deciding which one matters most before you book.
Most new snow
November
91cm and 1.6 powder days
Best bluebird odds
March
4.0 bluebird days, 8.6h sun a day
Wettest month
May
1.0 rain days
Is Zermatt a good place to ski?
heavy snowfallfrequent powder daysplenty of bluebird daysvery little rainsnow cover that never melts out at mid-mountain
On 10 years of record, Zermatt stands out for heavy snowfall, frequent powder days, plenty of bluebird days, very little rain and snow cover that never melts out at mid-mountain.
All of these figures come from 2760m, the mid-mountain height, and describe an average year rather than the one you are about to book. Snow depth here is modelled from reanalysis rather than measured on the hill, so treat it as a guide to how Zermatt usually behaves, not as a forecast.
Zermatt snow record in detail
How much snow does Zermatt get?
Zermatt averages 522cm of snowfall over a full season, measured from November to May across the last 10 winters. That is well above average: more snow than 88% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median season brings 283cm.
Season to season the spread is wide. The best of the last 10 winters was 2023/24 with 784cm, and the leanest was 2021/22 with 347cm — a difference of 437cm between a good year and a poor one. The most recent complete season, 2025/26, delivered 377cm.
November is reliably the snowiest month, averaging 91cm and 12 days with fresh snow.
How deep does the snow get at Zermatt?
The modelled snow at this elevation never melts out: the base does not drop below 291cm at any point in the year, including August. That means Zermatt is being measured on glaciated ground, where the reanalysis carries accumulated firn from one year into the next.
The consequence is that a peak depth figure here is not a seasonal base and cannot be compared with resorts that melt out each summer, so we do not rank it. Snow reliability at Zermatt is not in question; the number simply is not measuring what it measures elsewhere. Use the snowfall and powder day figures below, which are unaffected.
How many powder days does Zermatt get?
Counting any day that delivers at least 15cm of new snow, Zermatt averages 8 powder days a season. That is among the very best we track, more powder days than 90% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, where the median is 2 a season.
Powder days are not spread evenly. November averages 1.6 of them, which is the single strongest argument for timing a trip around the middle of the season rather than the edges.
How often does Zermatt get bluebird days?
A bluebird day means sunshine for at least 60% of daylight on the back of at least 10cm of snow in the previous 3 days — fresh snow and clear skies together, which is the combination people actually travel for. Zermatt averages 21 of them a season. That is well above average, more than 88% of 40 resorts we have analysed the same way, against a median of 10.
March is the best month for it, averaging 4.0 bluebird days and 8.6 hours of sunshine a day.
Does it rain at Zermatt?
Rain is the thing that ruins a ski week, and at mid-mountain height Zermatt sees an average of 2 days a season with at least 1mm of rain rather than snow. That is well below average: 0% of the 40 other resorts we have analysed the same way see fewer wet days, against a median of 32.
May carries the most of it, with 1.0 rain days and 5mm in an average year. Bear in mind these figures are for the middle of the mountain: the base area will be wetter and the top drier.
When is the best time to ski Zermatt, and when does the season end?
Because the snow at this elevation never fully melts, there is no meaningful date at which cover runs out — which is exactly why Zermatt can offer skiing outside the normal season. Timing here is about snow quality and lift opening rather than whether there is snow at all.
If you want the deepest base, go in January. If you want the best chance of fresh snow, go in November. If you want fresh snow and sunshine together, March gives the most bluebird days. Those rarely fall in the same month, so it is worth deciding which one matters most to you before you book.
Comparisons use 40 resorts across 18 countries, each measured over 5 recent seasons at mid-mountain height. Glaciated locations, where the model never melts the snow out, are excluded. Figures for Zermatt are taken at 2760m. Corpus last rebuilt 2026-09-02.