The climate of Sweden: when to go to Sweden

Sweden occupies the eastern part of the Scandinavian Peninsula, the one that looks mainly along the waters of the Baltic Sea, and the presence of the sea and the influences coming from the Atlantic Ocean affect the Swedish climate. The mild influence of the sea are felt mostly near the coast, while inland the climate is continental cold.

THE CLIMATE OF SWEDEN: THE CLIMATE REGIONS

The country can be divided into three distinct climatic regions, an area with a temperate continental climate that affects the central part of Sweden, an area with an oceanic climate that includes the southern part of the country, and finally a sub-arctic climate zone that limited to Swedish Lapland.

THE CLIMATE OF SWEDEN: TEMPERATURES AND PRECIPITATIONS

Throughout the country the rainfall values ​​remain relatively low and varies between 500 mm and 700 mm per year, only in the mountains on the border with Norway can reach 1,500 mm per year.

Temperatures, however, vary considerably between the tepid Scania and the cold Lapland, especially in winter the difference between the average temperature in southern Sweden (0°C in Scania) and the average temperature of northern Sweden (-14°C in Lapland) is approximately 14°C. In summer, due to the constant presence of the sun in the north of the country, the difference is less pronounced and is reduced to 4°C, between 16°C in Scania and 12°C in Lapland.

THE CLIMATE OF SWEDEN: SCANIA

The hottest region of the country is Scania, which is the southern part of Sweden, in this region the climate is oceanic due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, temperatures are milder than the whole of Sweden, in Malmö have maximum summer temperatures average around 21°C, while in winter the average minimum temperatures reach of -3°C. The precipitations are also here scanty making record annual average of 600 mm. The snow, usually not abundant, falls between December and March.

THE CLIMATE OF SWEDEN: STOCKHOLM

The central region of Sweden, where is also the capital Stockholm, is characterized by a temperate continental climate, which becomes markedly more continental with increasing distance from the sea, with fairly low rainfall at around 500/600 mm per year and temperatures rather mild considering the northern latutidine of the region. In Stockholm there are winter average minimum temperatures of -5°C and summer average maximum temperatures of 22°C. In this region, the snow usually falls between December and March.

THE CLIMATE OF SWEDEN: LAPLAND

The coldest area in the country is Lapland, in this area the climate is sub-Arctic, the temperatures are below freezing for several months a year, and snow is usually present between October and May. The most important center of Swedish Lapland, the city of Kiruna, have about 7 months of the year with average temperatures below freezing. In January the average minimum temperatures reach -21.9°C, while in July the average maximum temperatures reach 17,9°C . Precipitation is highest in the summer months, particularly in July and August, but the annual average is pretty low, just above 500 mm.

WHEN TO GO SWEDEN

The best time for a trip to Sweden are late spring and summer, that is, the months between May and September. During these months, besides the fact that the temperatures are mild and pleasant, you also have very long days.

THE CLIMATE OF SWEDEN: CLIMATE TABLES