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Climate · Helsinki

Helsinki in December

Cold and wet, as the days shorten.

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years

December in Helsinki is cold: highs near 36°F, lows near 26°F. Rain or snow falls on about three days a week, and the days shorten by 14 minutes from the first week to the last.December in Helsinki is cold: highs near 2°C, lows near -3°C. Rain or snow falls on about three days a week, and the days shorten by 14 minutes from the first week to the last.

High
36°F2°Caverage
Low
26°F-3°Caverage
Wet days
3a week · 47% of days
Daylight
5h 57mon average

Is December a good time to visit Helsinki?

December sits outside Helsinki's best months, which run from July to August. Expect cold days and rain or snow on about three days a week.

How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 70°F to 80°F, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.How we judge it: every month is scored on how close its typical high comes to the range from 21°C to 27°C, how mild its nights are, and how rarely it rains. The best months are the run of months that scores best.

How December sits in the year

week by week

Temperature

Highs near 36°F in December, against 30°F to 73°F through the year.Highs near 2°C in December, against -1°C to 23°C through the year.

Chance of a wet day

47% of days in December, against 30% to 48% through the year.

Cloud cover

77% cover in December, against 49% to 77% through the year.

Daylight

5h 57m in December, against 5h 57m to 18h 46m through the year.

Week by week, lightly smoothed, with December shaded. The olive line marks the best months. Hover or tap a week for its figures.

Either side

  1. November43°6°low 34°low 1°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  2. December36°2°low 26°low -3°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.
  3. January31°-1°low 21°low -6°3 wet days a weekRain on about three days a week.

Where Helsinki sits, in December

Europe/Helsinki
this place
typical high in December 40°F4°C95°F35°C
Sunrise, mid-December
9:18 AMsets 3:12 PM
Above the sea
0 mlow-lying
Latitude
60.2°Nnorthern hemisphere
Nearest of ours
Rovaniemi706 km north

The land around Helsinki, shaded by its typical high in December, the planning map's own layer. Hover the map for the figure at that spot; tap it on a phone. Clock times are local, for the 15th.

Elsewhere in Finland in December

high · low · wet days
See December on the planning mapThe whole year in Helsinki

Typical weather, averaged over 30 years (1995–2024), from the 11 km grid square nearest Helsinki. Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 3.1°F cold in the source data and are raised to match.Temperatures are adjusted against 66 weather stations: daytime highs read about 1.7°C cold in the source data and are raised to match. Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not. Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.

Daylight is calculated from latitude. Charts are lightly smoothed week to week; the figures in the table are not.

Source: Copernicus ERA5-Land reanalysis; cloud cover from NASA's MERRA-2 reanalysis, on a coarser grid of about 50 km. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026; neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use of it. These are averages, not a forecast.