Rovaniemi weather in December

In December, Rovaniemi sees average daytime highs of -5°C and overnight lows near -11°C, with 42 mm of precipitation across 10.4 wet days and about 1.4 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -4°C in the first days to -7°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 3 hours at the start of December to 1 h 24 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Rovaniemi's 11th-clearest and 2nd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Rovaniemi's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-5°
10th warmest
Overnight low
-11°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
42 mm
10.4 wet days
Daylight
1 hour
11:43 AM – 12:44 PM
Cloud cover
85%
11th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
2nd windiest
Solar energy
0 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about -4°C in the first days to -7°C by the end.

A typical December day in Rovaniemi reaches about -5°C in the afternoon and slips back to -11°C overnight — a 6°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -15°C and 1°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and about 3°C warmer than January.

-20°-10°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-4-9
2-4-9
3-4-9
4-4-9
5-4-9
6-4-9
7-4-9
8-4-9
9-4-10
10-4-10
11-4-10
12-5-10
13-5-10
14-5-10
15-5-11
16-5-11
17-5-11
18-6-11
19-6-12
20-6-12
21-6-12
22-6-12
23-7-12
24-7-12
25-7-13
26-7-13
27-7-13
28-7-13
29-7-13
30-7-13
31-7-13

How December really feels in Rovaniemi

Once humidity and wind are folded in, December averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
31 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Rovaniemi weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-8° / -14°369.310.23.50.0
Feb-7° / -14°29810.17.40.0
Mar-2° / -10°3289.411.10.0
Apr / -4°337.85.914.90.2
May11° / 49102.118.82.5
Jun17° / 7012.10.122.54.8
Jul20° / 11°8012.5020.75.7
Aug17° / 6911.5016.65.0
Sep11° / 5510.20.412.82.7
Oct / -2°519.74.190.2
Nov-2° / -7°47119.450.0
Dec-5° / -11°4210.411.71.40.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 10% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 7% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 83%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
11585
21585
31585
41585
51585
61585
71585
81684
91684
101684
111684
121783
131783
141783
151783
161783
171783
181882
191981
201882
211882
221882
231783
241783
251783
261783
271783
281882
291783
301783
311783

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Rovaniemi gets around 42 mm of rain and snow over 10.4 wet days in December. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 33% and peaks near 36% on the wettest days, and about 12 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13639
23639
33639
43539
53539
63539
73539
83539
93539
103539
113439
123439
133438
143438
153438
163337
173337
183336
193236
203236
213236
223235
233135
243135
253135
263134
273134
283134
293134
303134
313134

Humidity in December

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, December lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in December

Winds average 12 km/h in December.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
112calm
212calm
312calm
412calm
512calm
612calm
712calm
812calm
912calm
1012calm
1112calm
1212calm
1312calm
1412calm
1512calm
1612calm
1712calm
1812calm
1912calm
2012calm
2112calm
2212calm
2312calm
2412calm
2512calm
2612calm
2712calm
2812calm
2912calm
3012calm
3112calm

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 3 hours at the start of December to 1 h 24 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 96 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 10:38 AM to 11:39 AM, and sunset from 1:36 PM to 1:02 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
13.010:381:36
22.810:421:32
32.710:471:29
42.610:511:25
52.410:561:21
62.311:001:18
72.211:051:14
82.011:091:11
91.911:131:07
101.811:181:04
111.611:221:00
121.511:2612:57
131.411:3112:53
141.311:3512:50
151.111:3912:47
161.011:4312:44
170.911:4712:41
180.811:5012:39
190.711:5312:36
200.611:5612:35
210.611:5812:34
220.611:5912:34
230.611:5912:35
240.611:5812:37
250.711:5612:39
260.811:5412:42
270.911:5112:46
281.011:4812:50
291.111:4512:54
301.311:4212:58
311.411:391:02

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0 kWh/m² to a high of 5.1 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.0Dim
20.0Dim
30.0Dim
40.0Dim
50.0Dim
60.0Dim
70.0Dim
80.0Dim
90.0Dim
100.0Dim
110.0Dim
120.0Dim
130.0Dim
140.0Dim
150.0Dim
160.0Dim
170.0Dim
180.0Dim
190.0Dim
200.0Dim
210.0Dim
220.0Dim
230.0Dim
240.0Dim
250.0Dim
260.0Dim
270.0Dim
280.0Dim
290.0Dim
300.0Dim
310.0Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Rovaniemi?

Our two travel scores rate December for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.0
Sightseeing
8th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
6th-best month of the year

December is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Rovaniemi.

What to pack for Rovaniemi in December

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

In December, Rovaniemi sees daytime highs around -5°C and nights near -11°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Rovaniemi in December

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in December peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Rovaniemi peaks around July 13 at about 4 (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 13UV 4Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar1Low
Apr2Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun4Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug3Moderate
Sep2Low
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Rovaniemi?

Rovaniemi sits at 66.5°N, 25.7°E, 90 m above sea level, in Finland. The nearest listed city is Kemi, 99 km away.

KemiTornioHaukipudasLeviOuluLuleåBodenRaahe

Topography around Rovaniemi

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Rovaniemi has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 90 m around an average of 93 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 206 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 357 m.

The land around Rovaniemi is covered by trees (57%) within 3 km, trees (80%) within 16 km, and trees (82%) within 80 km.

3 km
90 m
16 km
206 m
80 km
357 m
treesgrasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland
December weather nearby: Kemi 99 km · Tornio 100 km · Haukipudas 148 km · Levi 150 km · Oulu 166 km · Luleå 189 km · Boden 195 km · Raahe 209 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 Rovaniemi (66.499°, 25.6887°, elevation 90 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. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).