Kontiolahti in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Kontiolahti sees average daytime highs around -5°C and overnight lows near -10°C, with 132 mm of precipitation over about 33 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.

Over the season highs ease from about -2°C in early December to -4°C by late February. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

Winter is Kontiolahti's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Kontiolahti's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high
-5°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
-10°C
Precipitation
132 mm
33 wet days
Avg wind
13 km/h
Travel score
0.0
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Kontiolahti in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs ease from about -2°C in early December to -4°C by late February.

A typical winter day in Kontiolahti reaches about -5°C and drops to -10°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.

-20°-10°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Kontiolahti

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.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
90
90 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Kontiolahti 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.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-6° / -11°4210.812.45.50.0
Feb-6° / -11°369.310.58.20.0
Mar-1° / -7°359.39.911.20.0
Apr / -2°338.14.714.40.4
May12° / 509.50.817.53.2
Jun17° / 10°7812.9019.45.1
Jul20° / 13°8913.3018.65.8
Aug18° / 12°8513.5015.85.2
Sep13° / 7212.20.112.73.1
Oct / 6312.63.19.50.5
Nov / -3°5611.79.36.50.0
Dec-4° / -7°5412.7134.60.0

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 7% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Kontiolahti gets around 132 mm of rain and snow over 33 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%10%20%30%40%50%DecJanFeb

Humidity in Winter

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Wind in Winter

Winds average 13 km/h across winter.

05101520DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 5 h 06 min in early December to 9 h 36 min by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMDecJanFeb

Solar energy in Winter

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 0.3 kWh/m².

00.511.52DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Is winter a good time to visit Kontiolahti?

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.

0.0
Sightseeing
4th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
4th-best month of the year

winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kontiolahti.

What to pack for Kontiolahti in Winter

From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In winter, Kontiolahti sees daytime highs around -5°C and nights near -10°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 33 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Kontiolahti in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

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 Kontiolahti 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJul 14UV 5Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar1Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul5Moderate
Aug4Moderate
Sep2Low
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Kontiolahti?

Kontiolahti sits at 62.8°N, 29.8°E, 138 m above sea level, in Finland. The nearest listed city is Joensuu, 18 km away.

SavonlinnaKuopioVarkausSiilinjärviSortavalaPieksämäkiIisalmi

Topography around Kontiolahti

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Kontiolahti.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kontiolahti has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 105 m around an average of 114 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 197 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 317 m.

The land around Kontiolahti is covered by trees (60%) and water (29%) within 3 km, trees (63%) and water (29%) within 16 km, and trees (75%) within 80 km.

3 km
105 m
16 km
197 m
80 km
317 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Winter weather nearby: Joensuu 18 km · Savonlinna 111 km · Kuopio 111 km · Varkaus 113 km · Siilinjärvi 116 km · Sortavala 125 km · Pieksämäki 148 km · Iisalmi 160 km

Finland travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 85% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$56,149
2025
Happiness
7.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.9
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 603
Religion
Lutheran 67%none 31%other 2%Greek Orthodox 1%

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 Kontiolahti (62.7602°, 29.8471°, elevation 138 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.