Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Rovaniemi Finland

In Rovaniemi, the summers are cool and partly cloudy and the winters are long, freezing, snowy, and overcast. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 6°F to 67°F and is rarely below -14°F or above 77°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Rovaniemi for warm-weather activities is from late June to early August.

The warm season lasts for 3.0 months, from May 31 to August 30, with an average daily high temperature above 57°F. The hottest month of the year in Rovaniemi is July, with an average high of 67°F and low of 53°F.

The cold season lasts for 3.8 months, from November 18 to March 12, with an average daily high temperature below 27°F. The coldest month of the year in Rovaniemi is January, with an average low of 7°F and high of 18°F.

In Rovaniemi, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Rovaniemi begins around April 20 and lasts for 4.9 months, ending around September 15.

The clearest month of the year in Rovaniemi is July, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 49% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 15 and lasts for 7.1 months, ending around April 20.

The cloudiest month of the year in Rovaniemi is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 84% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days in Rovaniemi varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.3 months, from May 10 to November 20, with a greater than 25% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Rovaniemi is July, with an average of 10.5 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.7 months, from November 20 to May 10. The month with the fewest wet days in Rovaniemi is March, with an average of 5.4 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Rovaniemi changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 7.6 months, from March 31 to November 16. The month with the most days of rain alone in Rovaniemi is July, with an average of 10.5 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 4.4 months, from November 16 to March 31. The month with the most days of snow alone in Rovaniemi is January, with an average of 5.2 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Rovaniemi experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 7.9 months, from April 3 to November 29, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain in Rovaniemi is July, with an average rainfall of 2.8 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 4.1 months, from November 29 to April 3. The month with the least rain in Rovaniemi is February, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Rovaniemi experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from October 3 to May 7, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Rovaniemi is January, with an average snowfall of 8.0 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 4.9 months, from May 7 to October 3. The least snow falls around August 1, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

Due to its extreme latitude, Rovaniemi experiences polar day (also known as the midnight Sun) during the summer. The precise start and end dates of polar day and night vary from year to year and depend on the precise location and elevation of the observer, and the local topography.

In the summer in Rovaniemi during 2024, the Sun is continuously above the horizon for 1.0 months, rising at 1:35 AM on June 5, and not setting again until 1:21 AM on July 6.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Rovaniemi during 2024, starting in the spring on March 31, lasting 6.9 months, and ending in the fall on October 27.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level in Rovaniemi, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Rovaniemi experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.3 months, from November 9 to May 18, with average wind speeds of more than 5.0 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Rovaniemi is February, with an average hourly wind speed of 5.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.7 months, from May 18 to November 9. The calmest month of the year in Rovaniemi is August, with an average hourly wind speed of 4.2 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Rovaniemi is from the south throughout the year.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Rovaniemi throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Rovaniemi for general outdoor tourist activities is from late June to early August, with a peak score in the third week of July.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Rovaniemi for hot-weather activities is from mid to late July, with a peak score in the third week of July.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Rovaniemi typically lasts for 4.2 months (128 days), from around May 15 to around September 20, rarely starting before April 28 or after June 1, and rarely ending before September 2 or after October 9.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Rovaniemi should appear around June 4, only rarely appearing before May 24 or after June 20.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 2.7 months, from May 13 to August 3, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.5 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Rovaniemi is June, with an average of 5.6 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 5.1 months, from October 1 to March 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Rovaniemi is December, with an average of 0.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Rovaniemi are 66.500 deg latitude, 25.717 deg longitude, and 315 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Rovaniemi contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 427 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 298 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (673 feet). Within 50 miles contains significant variations in elevation (1,273 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Rovaniemi is covered by artificial surfaces (63%), water (22%), and trees (14%), within 10 miles by trees (83%), and within 50 miles by trees (86%).