Weather in Sweden

Sweden enjoys mostly temperate weather, even though it’s in the north. Summers are May through July and are lovely, sun-filled and full of heat, but as you travel north, the summer months become more brief and brisk.

Several camping facilities and tourist spots are open exclusively during summer. The highest temperatures are reached in Stockholm in July, averaging 22 degrees C, where a generous 9-10 hours of sun is yours for the taking. Temperatures in the mountains of the north can dip to 11 degrees during this time, and you can’t be sure it won’t snow.

Swedish winters last from November through March and plunge to bitterly cold temperatures, particularly in the north. Several ports on the coast are in a freeze for the duration of winter, while the Stockholm archipelago can be frozen for about two months.

August marks the beginning of the rains, and cold and hot can co-exist during this period. Sweden’s extreme northern location equates to a lack of total darkness from the middle of May to the second half of July. The converse is true during the virtually sunless winter. Yearly rain is most abundant near Gothenburg, logging more than 700mm that in Lapland comes down mostly as snow and covers the region for 200 days.