Weather

Finland has a cold but temperate climate, which is actually comparatively mild for the latitude because of the moderating influence of the Gulf Stream. Winter, however, is just as dark as everywhere in these latitudes, and temperatures can (very rarely) reach -30°C in the south and even dip below -40°C in the north. The brief Finnish summer is considerably more pleasant, with temperatures around 20-23°C on sunny days (rarely closer to 30°C), and is generally the best time of year to visit. July is the warmest month. Early spring (March-April) is when the snow starts to melt and Finns like to head north for skiing and winter sports, while the transition from fall to winter in October-December — wet and dark— is the least pleasant time to visit. The southern coast where Helsinki and Turku are located is not really a winter destination, because there is no guarantee of snow even in January or February.

Due to the extreme latitude, northern parts of Finland experiences the famous Midnight Sun near the summer solstice, when (if above the Arctic Circle) the sun never sets during the night and even in southern Finland it never really gets dark. The flip side of the coin is the Arctic Night (kaamos) in the winter, when the sun never comes up at all in the North. In the South, daylight is limited to a few pitiful hours with the sun just barely climbing over the trees before it heads down again.

Owing to the mitigating influence of the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic Current, temperatures in winter are higher than the northern location might suggest.  Winters in Helsinki are notably warmer than in the north, and the snow season is much shorter. Temperatures below −20 °C (−4 °F) occur a few times a year or less. However, because of the latitude, days last 5 hours and 48 minutes around the winter solstice with very low Sun (at noon Sun is little bit over 6 degrees in the sky), and the cloudy weather at this time of year accentuates the darkness. Conversely, Helsinki enjoys long daylight in summer, during the summer solstice days last 18 hours and 57 minutes.

July is the hottest month in Helsinki with an average temperature of 17°C (62°F) and the coldest is February at -6°C (22°F). The wettest month is August with an average of 90mm of rain. The best month to swim in the sea is in August when the average sea temperature is 13°C (55°F).

Weather information obtained/edited for use on our website from:

• https://wikitravel.org/en/Finland#Climate
• http://www.holiday-weather.com/

The southern and western parts of Norway, fully exposed to Atlantic storm fronts, experience more precipitation and have milder winters than the eastern and far northern parts. Areas to the east of the coastal mountains are in a rain shadow, and have lower rain and snow totals than the west. The lowlands around Oslo have the warmest and sunniest summers, but also cold weather and snow in wintertime.

Because of Norway's high latitude, there are large seasonal variations in daylight. From late May to late July, the sun never completely descends beneath the horizon in areas north of the Arctic Circle (hence Norway's description as the "Land of the Midnight Sun"), and the rest of the country experiences up to 20 hours of daylight per day. Conversely, from late November to late January, the sun never rises above the horizon in the north, and daylight hours are very short in the rest of the country.

In Oslo, the sun sets at around 15:30 in December. North of the Arctic Circle one can experience the midnight sun and polar night (winter darkness). However, even at Oslo's latitude, summer nights exist only in the form of prolonged twilight during June and July, these gentle "white nights" can also be a nice and unusual experience for visitors. The polar (or northern) lights (aurora borealis) occurs in the darker months, frequently at high latitudes (Northern Norway) but occasionally also further South.

Although well into the northern latitudes, Oslo's climate is fairly temperate thanks to warm air being wafted across the Atlantic from the Gulf Stream. Summer weather in Oslo is usually mild and pleasant, with frequent hot spells and plenty of long sunny days. In winter temperatures hover just above or below freezing, with occasional cold spells. Snow is most often plentiful in the forested areas, making Oslo a great winter sports venue. Rainfall is spread across the year, the rainiest month being August.

Oslo's climate used to be described as a humid continental climate, but due to recent warming (especially in winter), the climate is now almost exactly at the intersection of a humid continental (Dfb) and temperate oceanic climate (Cfb). Because of the city's northern latitude, daylight varies greatly, from more than 18 hours in midsummer, when it never gets completely dark at night (no darker than nautical twilight), to around 6 hours in midwinter.

 Weather information obtained/edited for use on our website from http://www.holiday-weather.com/; https://wikitravel.org/en/Norway#Climate

Being surrounded by the sea in three directions, Skagen has a cool oceanic climate with a lack of temperature extremes. Its maritime and moderated characteristics is shared with the rest of the country. Skagen is Denmark's sunniest town with an average of 233 hours of sunshine in the holiday month of July, higher than the 222 hours recorded for Bornholm's Østerlars.

Weather information obtained/edited for use on our website from http://www.holiday-weather.com/