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Helsinki weather by month: averages, rainfall & climate trends

Finland's seaside capital sits on the Gulf of Finland in the far north: a snowy, hemiboreal climate of long, dark, cold winters and short, light-filled summers, tempered by the Baltic Sea. Helsinki weather by month: average temperatures, rainfall, extremes and how the climate has changed since 1940.

Today vs average

+2.2°Chigh above average

9° / 3°Today
7° / 3°Average
see today in detail →

How it's changed

+2.2°Caverage temperature, 2016–2025 vs 1940–1949average temperature vs 1940–49122frost days a year now (2016–2025) · 160 in the 1940sfrost days a year · 160 in the 1940s13days above 25°C a year now (2016–2025) · 5 in the 1940sdays above 25°C · 5 in the 1940s+2.2°C vs the 1940s · see how it's changed →
Weather by montha typical year, averaged over the full recordJanuary, rain 59 mmhigh −3°low −8°February, rain 46 mmhigh −3°low −9°March, rain 41 mmhigh 1°low −6°April, rain 43 mmhigh 7°low −1°May, rain 47 mmhigh 14°low 5°June, rain 63 mmhigh 18°low 10°July, rain 85 mmhigh 21°low 13°August, rain 90 mmhigh 20°low 12°September, rain 70 mmhigh 14°low 8°October, rain 63 mmhigh 8°low 3°November, rain 67 mmhigh 3°low −1°December, rain 65 mmhigh −1°low −5°wettest month August, 90 mm · 740 mm a yearsee month by month →

Right now

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

Right now

3.0°

−1°feels like
86%humidity
1°dew point
7 km/hfrom NE
UV index0.0
sunrise08:10sunset17:59day length9h 50m
TodayPartly cloudy9°3°
TueClear10°6°
WedClear10°8°
ThuOvercast13°10°
FriDrizzle12°10°
SatOvercast11°10°
SunDrizzle11°9°

On this date: October 19

Today (forecast)
9° / 3°
Average for October 19
7° / 3°

High above average · +2.2°C

  • Highest since 1940: 13.5° · 2012
  • Lowest since 1940: −8.7° · 2002
  • One year ago: 9° / −1°

Every October 19 in history, coldest to hottest

▲ Daily highs▼ Daily lows

Dots show daily highs (top) and lows (bottom) for each October 19 on record (n = 86). 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 Helsinki is sampled from the ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at 60.17°N, 24.94°E, with daily records since 1940.

Coordinates
60.17°N, 24.94°E
Time zone
Europe/Helsinki
Period
1940–2026
Data source
ERA5 (ECMWF)

Last 30 days

27 of the last 30 days were warmer than the historical average for that date. Average difference: +2.7°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

Helsinki has a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfb) on the cool, hemiboreal edge of that zone. Perched on the Gulf of Finland, it is moderated by the Baltic Sea, which keeps its winters milder than its far-northern location would imply. Its most striking feature is light: daylight stretches to nearly nineteen hours at midsummer and shrinks to under six in the depths of winter.

Winters are long, cold and snowy, though deep cold strikes only a few times a year thanks to the sea, and summers are short and mild. The warming end of the record has been creeping up: the city set a new all-time high in the summer of 2019, edging past a mark that had stood since the 1940s.

The year peaks in July, at around 21.1°C by mid-afternoon, with nights around 13.3°C. In February, the coolest month, afternoons reach about −3.4°C and nights dip to −8.7°C. Frost shows up on around 120 mornings a year.

In total, Helsinki averages about 740 mm of precipitation a year; August is usually the wettest month (90 mm) and March the driest (41 mm).

The record here starts in 1940, and since then the annual mean in Helsinki has climbed 2.2°C from the first ten years to the last ten. That last decade has also been the warmest in the record.

Sources:en.wikipedia.orgbritannica.comen.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi

Climate graph (climograph)

July is the warmest month, February the coolest: a yearly swing of 23°C. Wettest month: August (~90 mm). Whole year averages ~740 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 105 rainy days a year: most in August (~11), fewest in March (~7).

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.

Helsinki 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. Highest and Lowest are the most extreme values in the ERA5 dataset (modelled since 1940), so they can differ from official weather-station readings.

MonthAvg highAvg lowRainRainy daysDaylightHighestLowest
January−3.3°−8.2°59 mm96.3 h7.8° (2020)−36.0° (1987)
February−3.4°−8.7°46 mm78.8 h8.6° (1990)−32.4° (1966)
March0.5°−6.0°41 mm711.3 h15.2° (2007)−23.7° (1942)
April6.7°−0.5°43 mm714.2 h21.4° (1986)−13.2° (1960)
May13.7°5.0°47 mm716.9 h27.4° (1993)−5.4° (1941)
June18.5°10.2°63 mm818.5 h29.8° (2021)1.9° (1975)
July21.1°13.3°85 mm1017.8 h32.0° (2019)5.2° (2009)
August19.6°12.2°90 mm1115.4 h30.4° (2010)3.3° (2007)
September14.4°8.1°70 mm912.5 h25.4° (1968)−4.0° (1986)
October8.2°3.5°63 mm99.7 h17.5° (1984)−12.9° (1992)
November2.7°−0.9°67 mm107.0 h13.4° (2022)−18.6° (1988)
December−0.7°−5.0°65 mm105.5 h10.2° (2015)−30.6° (1978)

How it's changed

Year-by-year signals from 1940 to today.

Climate stripes

Annual mean shifted from 1940–1949 to 2016–2025 by +2.2°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: +0.29°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: +0.42°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: 4.9 early in the record → 13.4 recently. Frost days: 160 → 122.

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

Hottest day since 1940 in 2019, coldest in 1987: 32.0°C / −36.0°C.

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

Annual rainfall

~740 mm/year on average. Last decade: +7% vs that average. Long-term trend: +9 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 Helsinki

Which is the warmest month in Helsinki?
On long-term average, the warmest month in Helsinki is July (mean daily temperature of about 17.6°C) and the coolest is February (about −5.8°C).
How does today's temperature in Helsinki compare to the historical average?
On October 19, 2026, Helsinki is forecast to reach a high of 9.3°C and a low of 2.7°C. The long-term average for this date (the full record since 1940) is a high of 7.1°C and a low of 2.6°C, so today's high is 2.2°C warmer than that average.
How much has Helsinki warmed since 1940?
Comparing the first decade of the record (1940–1949) with the most recent (2016–2025), the annual mean temperature in Helsinki is about 2.2°C warmer.
How much does it rain in Helsinki?
Helsinki receives about 740 mm of precipitation per year on long-term average, with August typically the wettest month.
What is the average temperature in Helsinki?
Over the full record (since 1940), the annual mean temperature in Helsinki is about 5.3°C. The warmest month is July and the coolest is February.
What are the average temperatures in Helsinki by month?
Average daily highs and lows for each month in Helsinki (°C, full record since 1940): January −3°/−8°, February −3°/−9°, March 1°/−6°, April 7°/−1°, May 14°/5°, June 18°/10°, July 21°/13°, August 20°/12°, September 14°/8°, October 8°/3°, November 3°/−1°, December −1°/−5°.
What is the weather like in Helsinki in summer?
June to August is summer in Helsinki, and it is mild. Afternoons run 18–21°C and nights 10–13°C; July is the warmest month. Rain falls on about 10 days a month, adding up to around 80 mm.
What is the weather like in Helsinki in winter?
In winter, December through February, Helsinki is cold, with afternoons close to freezing. Expect −3 to −1°C by day and −9 to −5°C at night, with February the coldest month. Snow is steady at around 57 mm of precipitation a month, spread over roughly 9 days.
What is the weather like in Helsinki in spring?
Spring in Helsinki (March to May) is cold. March starts at 1°C by day and −6°C at night; by May it is 14°C and 5°C. Rain and snow fall on about 7 days a month, adding up to around 44 mm. It is the driest season of the year.
What is the weather like in Helsinki in autumn?
September to November is autumn in Helsinki, and it is on the cool side. It cools from 14°C by day and 8°C at night in September to 3°C and −1°C in November. Rain and snow are steady at around 67 mm a month, spread over roughly 9 days.
How many days a year does it rain in Helsinki?
On long-term average, Helsinki has about 105 days a year with at least 2 mm of rain or snow. The annual total is roughly 740 mm.

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