Climate averages 1991–2020
Helsinki weather
in January.
A freezing month with moderate precipitation: the 11th warmest and the 5th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a freezing month in Helsinki: daytime highs average -2.1°C and nights cool to about -6.0°C. By daytime temperature it is the 11th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 48 mm of precipitation on roughly 11 days, which makes January a month with moderate precipitation (the 5th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 6 h 45 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Vantaa (15 km away). In January its highs average -2.3°C, about as warm as Helsinki, with 48 mm of precipitation.
Among the 13 cities listed in Finland, Helsinki ranks 4th of 13 for the warmest January highs and joint 10th of 13 for the driest January (precipitation, lowest first). The mean January high of those 13 cities is -3.5°C; Helsinki is 1.4°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs fall by 0.7°C to -2.9°C, and monthly precipitation falls from 48 mm to 41 mm.
The annual picture
January in context
Monthly precipitation
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Helsinki climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Precipitation mm/month | Wet days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January, selected | -2.1°C-6.0°C | -6.0°C | 48 | 10.9 | 6.87 h |
| February | -2.9°C-7.1°C | -7.1°C | 41 | 9.3 | 9.19 h |
| March | 0.7°C-4.6°C | -4.6°C | 37 | 8.5 | 11.712 h |
| April | 6.9°C0.3°C | 0.3°C | 37 | 8.7 | 14.515 h |
| May | 13.1°C6.0°C | 6.0°C | 44 | 8.9 | 17.217 h |
| June | 17.3°C10.8°C | 10.8°C | 72 | 11.7 | 18.819 h |
| July | 20.8°C14.6°C | 14.6°C | 76 | 11.9 | 18.118 h |
| August | 19.6°C13.9°C | 13.9°C | 76 | 12.3 | 15.716 h |
| September | 14.6°C9.8°C | 9.8°C | 57 | 10.4 | 13.013 h |
| October | 8.1°C4.4°C | 4.4°C | 59 | 11.1 | 10.210 h |
| November | 3.3°C0.3°C | 0.3°C | 59 | 11.5 | 7.68 h |
| December | 0.1°C-3.2°C | -3.2°C | 55 | 12.2 | 6.06 h |
Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
January in nearby cities
- Vantaa in JanuaryFinland · 15 kmHigh -2.3°C · Low -6.7°C · 48 mm precipitation
- Espoo in JanuaryFinland · 16 kmHigh -1.9°C · Low -5.8°C · 50 mm precipitation
- Tallinn in JanuaryEstonia · 82 kmHigh -1.5°C · Low -5.4°C · 43 mm precipitation
- Lahti in JanuaryFinland · 99 kmHigh -3.6°C · Low -8.0°C · 41 mm precipitation
- Kouvola in JanuaryFinland · 124 kmHigh -3.8°C · Low -8.3°C · 44 mm precipitation
- Turku in JanuaryFinland · 150 kmHigh -1.5°C · Low -6.0°C · 49 mm precipitation
- Tampere in JanuaryFinland · 160 kmHigh -3.6°C · Low -7.4°C · 39 mm precipitation
- Lappeenranta in JanuaryFinland · 203 kmHigh -4.5°C · Low -8.4°C · 42 mm precipitation
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Helsinki) is explained once on the Helsinki year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.
Vantaa lies in the same rainfall cell, so its rainfall figures are identical to these; temperatures differ because they come from smaller 0.1° cells.