Bilbao has a coastal climate, generally mild, with not too extreme temperatures. January average temperature is 9C and July average 21C. Precipitation is around 1200mm per year, almost entirely rain, although every winter is snows now and again.

Extreme heat is also common a few days each summer, mainly when strong winds from the south blows through the mountains and makes the temperatures rise.

Mostly though, the weather is pleasant and milder than in many other parts of the peninsula. There is also more rain, and the green hills of Bilbao can, especially in the summer, be a welcome relief after an extended stay in the dry plains in the south.