WeatherJourney.com

Gothenburg weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Sweden's second city faces west into the North Sea, and the open water leaves it milder and wetter than the capital on the far side of the country. Gothenburg weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, records and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

−2.3°Chigh below average

10° / 4°Today
12° / 5°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+1.7°Caverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–4979frost days a year now (2016–2025) · 106 in the 1940sfrost days a year · 106 in the 1940s15days above 25°C a year now (2016–2025) · 8 in the 1940sdays above 25°C · 8 in the 1940s+1.7°C vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 71 mmhigh 1°low −3°February, rain 53 mmhigh 1°low −4°March, rain 51 mmhigh 5°low −2°April, rain 56 mmhigh 10°low 2°May, rain 68 mmhigh 16°low 7°June, rain 88 mmhigh 19°low 10°July, rain 104 mmhigh 21°low 13°August, rain 114 mmhigh 20°low 12°September, rain 98 mmhigh 16°low 9°October, rain 91 mmhigh 11°low 6°November, rain 77 mmhigh 6°low 2°December, rain 74 mmhigh 3°low −1°wettest month August, 114 mm · 945 mm a yearsee month by month →

Right now

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

Right now

9.6°

7°feels like
60%humidity
2°dew point
10 km/hfrom N
UV index0.7
sunrise07:40sunset18:16day length10h 37m
TodayClear10°4°
TueOvercast12°3°
WedClear14°12°
ThuOvercast14°11°
FriDrizzle14°13°
SatDrizzle13°7°
SunClear11°4°

On this date: October 12

Today (forecast)
10° / 4°
Average for October 12
12° / 5°

High below average · −2.3°C

  • Record high: 17.8° · 2018
  • Record low: −5.3° · 1973
  • One year ago: 14° / 3°

Every October 12 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 12 on record (n = 87). 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 Gothenburg is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 57.71°N, 11.97°E, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
57.71°N, 11.97°E
Time zone
Europe/Stockholm
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

26 of the last 31 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +2.1°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

Gothenburg sits on Sweden's west coast, on the Kattegat arm of the North Sea. For all its northern latitude the city stays mild, kept that way by the Gulf Stream, which leaves it noticeably warmer than Stockholm at much the same latitude. Its oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) brings pleasant summers and cold, windy winters, with rain falling regularly but seldom heavily through the year.

Snow comes mainly between December and March without ever dominating the season, as the maritime air holds the deep cold of the Swedish interior at bay. The far northern position shows up most in the light: midsummer days run to around eighteen hours, while December offers barely six and a half. Cloud and wind off the sea are frequent, and the weather can turn quickly with each Atlantic system that rolls in.

The year peaks in July, at around 20.6°C by mid-afternoon, with nights around 12.5°C. Roughly 15 days a year now top 25°C. The coolest month is February, when afternoons reach about 1.4°C and overnight lows sit around −4.0°C.

In total, Gothenburg averages about 945 mm of precipitation a year; August is usually the wettest month (114 mm) and March the driest (51 mm).

The record here starts in 1940, and since then the annual mean in Gothenburg has climbed 1.7°C from the first ten years to the last ten. Frost days have thinned out, from around 105 a year in the first decade to about 80 now.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgbritannica.comsmhi.se

Climate graph (climograph)

July is the warmest month, February the coolest: a yearly swing of 18°C. Wettest month: August (~114 mm). Whole year averages ~945 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 119 rainy days a year: most in August (~12), fewest in February (~8).

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.

Gothenburg 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. Record high/low are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightRecord highRecord low
January1.1°−3.5°71 mm106.9 h10.3° (2007)−27.3° (1940)
February1.4°−4.0°53 mm89.1 h13.1° (2019)−27.0° (1956)
March4.9°−1.8°51 mm811.4 h17.9° (2012)−24.6° (1947)
April10.2°2.0°56 mm814.0 h27.3° (1993)−13.0° (1942)
May15.6°6.6°68 mm916.3 h30.0° (2018)−2.5° (2011)
June18.9°10.4°88 mm1017.7 h30.3° (2007)1.4° (1975)
July20.6°12.5°104 mm1117.1 h33.3° (1941)5.5° (1978)
August19.9°12.2°114 mm1215.0 h33.0° (1975)2.8° (1978)
September16.1°9.2°98 mm1112.5 h28.5° (2024)−3.2° (1986)
October11.2°5.7°91 mm119.9 h19.8° (2018)−9.7° (2003)
November6.0°1.8°77 mm117.6 h15.3° (2020)−14.1° (1980)
December2.9°−1.3°74 mm106.3 h11.5° (2006)−23.3° (1981)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +1.7°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: +0.21°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: +0.43°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 ≥ 25°C per year: 8.0 early in the record → 15.1 recently. Frost days: 106 → 79.

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

All-time high in 1941, all-time low in 1940: 33.3°C / −27.3°C.

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

Annual rainfall

~945 mm/year on average. Last decade: +7% vs that average. Long-term trend: +26 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 Gothenburg

Which is the warmest month in Gothenburg?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Gothenburg is July (mean daily temperature of about 16.9°C) and the coolest is February (about −1.1°C).
How does today's temperature in Gothenburg compare to the historical average?
On October 12, 2026, Gothenburg is forecast to reach a high of 9.8°C and a low of 4.1°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 12.1°C and a low of 5.5°C, so today's high is 2.3°C cooler than that average.
How much has Gothenburg warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Gothenburg is about 1.7°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Gothenburg?
Gothenburg receives about 945 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with August typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Gothenburg?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Gothenburg is about 7.7°C. The warmest month is July and the coolest is February.
What are the average temperatures in Gothenburg by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Gothenburg (°C, full record since 1940): January 1°/−3°, February 1°/−4°, March 5°/−2°, April 10°/2°, May 16°/7°, June 19°/10°, July 21°/13°, August 20°/12°, September 16°/9°, October 11°/6°, November 6°/2°, December 3°/−1°.
What is the weather like in Gothenburg in summer?
Summer in Gothenburg (June to August) is wet and mild. Afternoons run 19–21°C and nights 10–13°C; July is the warmest month. Rain falls on about 11 days a month, adding up to around 102 mm.
What is the weather like in Gothenburg in winter?
December to February is winter in Gothenburg, and it is cold, with afternoons close to freezing. Expect 1–3°C by day and −4 to −1°C at night, with February the coldest month. Rain and snow fall on about 9 days a month, adding up to around 66 mm.
What is the weather like in Gothenburg in spring?
In spring, March through May, Gothenburg is on the cool side. March is still 5°C in the afternoon and −2°C at night, May already 16°C and 7°C. Rain falls on about 8 days a month, adding up to around 58 mm.
What is the weather like in Gothenburg in autumn?
In autumn, September through November, Gothenburg is cool. September is still 16°C by day and 9°C at night; by November it is down to 6°C and 2°C. Rain is steady at around 89 mm a month, spread over roughly 11 days.
How many days a year does it rain in Gothenburg?
On long-term average, Gothenburg has about 119 days a year with at least 2 mm of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 945 mm.

Weather in nearby cities