Sweden - Climate and Weather

Sweden’s climate is considered to be temperate, which means the climate is not extreme and the seasons are fairly moderate. In meteorological terms Sweden has three different climatic regions. The northern part of the country, known as Norrland, is a subarctic climate. This region sees dry and long winters with sub zero temperatures throughout September to May. Snow is also frequent. Summers are notably short and see average temperatures of around 15°C though sometimes the temperature can be double that. The central part of the country, Svealand, is of a continental climate. The area sees cold winters and snow, often with minus temperatures in January. Summers are warm with peaks of 20°C over the month of July. The southern area of Götaland’s climatic classification is oceanic. The area experiences cold and long winters with lows of -5°C and consistent humidity. Summers are warm with temperatures usually falling between 15°C-25°C.

Spring falls between March / April to May, summer comes in from June to August, autumn falls between October to November and winter begins from November / December ending in February / March time. When it comes to the weather and what to wear, Swedes always have a bag with them just in case the weather changes. Get yourself a bag and the essentials of walking boots, a waterproof jacket for all seasons, and sunglasses. Chilly spring days mean layers and long trousers plus thinner layers for milder days. Summer means lighter clothing with jumpers and trousers for the evenings. Autumn sees temperatures cooling down so make sure you have a range of clothing to suit the temperatures. During winter time it is necessary to have plenty of layers with rain and wind proof clothing. Knitwear, thick fleeces, boots and headwear are necessary to keep warm.

For the capital city of Stockholm the typical monthly maximum, minimum and average temperature per month are as follows:

• January has maximum temperatures of -1°C, minimum of -5°C and an average of °-3C.
• February has maximum temperatures of -1°C, minimum of -5°C and an average of -3°C.
• March has maximum temperatures of °3C, minimum of -3°C and an average of 0°C.
• April has maximum temperatures of 9°C, minimum of 1°C and an average of 5°C.
• May has maximum temperatures of 16°C, minimum of 6°C and an average of 11°C.
• June has maximum temperatures of 21°C, minimum of 11°C and an average of 16°C.
• July has maximum temperatures of 22°C, minimum of 13°C and an average of 18°C.
• August has maximum temperatures of 20°C, minimum of 13°C and an average of 17°C.
• September has maximum temperatures of 15°C, minimum of 9°C and an average of 12°C.
• October has maximum temperatures of 10°C, minimum of 5°C and an average of 8°C.
• November has maximum temperatures of 4°C, minimum of 1°C and an average of 3°C.
• December has maximum temperatures of 1°C, minimum of -3°C and an average of -1°C.

The typical monthly rainfall for Stockholm is as follows:

• The monthly rainfall for January is 39 mm over 16 days.
• The monthly rainfall for February is 27 mm over 14 days.
• The monthly rainfall for March is 26 mm over 10 days.
• The monthly rainfall for April is 30mm over 11 days.
• The monthly rainfall for May is 30mm over 11 days.
• The monthly rainfall for June is 45mm over 13 days.
• The monthly rainfall for July is 72mm over 13 days.
• The monthly rainfall for August is 66mm over 14days.
• The monthly rainfall for September is 55mm over 14days.
• The monthly rainfall for October is 50mm over 15 days.
• The monthly rainfall for November is 53mm over 16 days.
• The monthly rainfall for December is 46mm over 17days.

Out of a possible 4383 hours of sunlight in a year, Stockholm experiences an average of 1973. That averages out at 5.24 hours of sunlight per day. In terms of humidity, November peaks at 88% and is at its lowest at 65% in May. Whilst it is fairly high all year, it isn’t a notable problem.

The environmental risks in Sweden are varied. Cyclones resulting in strong winds and storms comparable to hurricanes have ravaged Sweden in the past. Cyclone Gudrun in 2005 left over 400,000 homes without power for days, damaged a large number of forests and caused 20 people to lose their lives. Most recently Cyclone Xaver swept across Sweden in 2013. A further environment risk is landslides. With heavy rain, winds and unstable terrain it is common for low level landslides to occur all over the country on a frequent basis. Rarely do landslides occur on a large scale but in 1977 the Tuve Landslide in Gothenburg affected around 268km of land, crushing close to 70 houses. A road was destroyed, 9 people were killed and 600 were rendered homeless.

Floods brought on by heavy rain are common in Sweden. Covering roads, submerging cars and seeping into homes, flash floods are an unfortunate consequence of heavy rainfall. Such occurrences have led emergency services to put in place special evacuation procedures and warnings from Sweden’s weather agency SMHI.

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