Tórshavn in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Tórshavn sees average daytime highs around 6°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 343 mm of precipitation over about 55 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Tórshavn's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. Tórshavn has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Tórshavn's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 6°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 4°C
- Precipitation
- 343 mm
- 55 wet days
- Avg wind
- 34 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.3
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Tórshavn in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 6°C.
A typical winter day in Tórshavn reaches about 6°C and drops to 4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.
How winter really feels in Tórshavn
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 90 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Tórshavn weather by month
How the three winter months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 6° / 4° | 122 | 19.6 | 2.9 | 5.8 | 0.3 |
| Feb | 6° / 3° | 95 | 16.7 | 3.4 | 8.3 | 0.2 |
| Mar | 6° / 3° | 93 | 17.9 | 2.8 | 11.3 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 6° / 4° | 67 | 13.9 | 1.3 | 14.3 | 0.5 |
| May | 8° / 6° | 54 | 11.8 | 0.2 | 17.2 | 1.1 |
| Jun | 9° / 8° | 46 | 8.9 | 0 | 19.1 | 1.8 |
| Jul | 11° / 9° | 53 | 11.4 | 0 | 18.3 | 2.3 |
| Aug | 11° / 10° | 68 | 11.9 | 0 | 15.7 | 2.6 |
| Sep | 11° / 9° | 94 | 15 | 0 | 12.6 | 2.1 |
| Oct | 9° / 7° | 117 | 18.2 | 0.1 | 9.6 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 7° / 5° | 119 | 19.2 | 1.2 | 6.7 | 0.8 |
| Dec | 6° / 4° | 125 | 19.1 | 3 | 4.9 | 0.5 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 8% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Tórshavn gets around 343 mm of rain and snow over 55 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 34 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 5 h 24 min in early December to 9 h 42 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 0.4 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Tórshavn?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Tórshavn.
What to pack for Tórshavn in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Tórshavn sees daytime highs around 6°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer, rain gear and a windbreaker. Worth having: a heavy coat. About 55 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Tórshavn in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 7°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 15 km away) is warmest in August at about 10°C and coldest in February near 7°C.
The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7 | Bracing |
| Feb | 7 | Bracing |
| Mar | 7 | Bracing |
| Apr | 7 | Bracing |
| May | 8 | Bracing |
| Jun | 9 | Bracing |
| Jul | 10 | Bracing |
| Aug | 10 | Bracing |
| Sep | 10 | Bracing |
| Oct | 10 | Bracing |
| Nov | 9 | Bracing |
| Dec | 8 | Bracing |
UV index in Tórshavn in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Tórshavn peaks around July 14 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Level | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | Low |
| Feb | 0 | Low |
| Mar | 1 | Low |
| Apr | 2 | Moderate |
| May | 4 | Moderate |
| Jun | 4 | Moderate |
| Jul | 5 | Moderate |
| Aug | 3 | Moderate |
| Sep | 2 | Low |
| Oct | 1 | Low |
| Nov | 0 | Low |
| Dec | 0 | Low |
Where is Tórshavn?
Tórshavn sits at 62.0°N, 6.8°W, 1 m above sea level, in Faroe Islands. The nearest listed city is Isle of Lewis, 422 km away.
Topography around Tórshavn
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Tórshavn.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Tórshavn has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 345 m around an average of 80 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 765 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 887 m.
The land around Tórshavn is covered by grassland (42%) and water (39%) within 3 km, water (70%) and grassland (29%) within 16 km, and water (87%) within 80 km.
Faroe Islands travel facts
- Power plugs
- Type C / E / F / K
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 94% of US
- price level, 2024
- GDP per capita
- $74,175
- 2024
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- Religion
Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.
Data sources
Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Tórshavn (62.0097°, -6.7716°, elevation 1 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google.