Vik in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Vik sees average daytime highs around 2°C and overnight lows near -1°C, with 873 mm of precipitation over about 64 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 2°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Vik's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Vik's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 2°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- -1°C
- Precipitation
- 873 mm
- 64 wet days
- Avg wind
- 23 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Vik in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 2°C.
A typical winter day in Vik reaches about 2°C and drops to -1°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest February.
How winter really feels in Vik
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.
Vik 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 | 2° / -1° | 289 | 22 | 19.9 | 5.2 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 2° / -1° | 278 | 20.1 | 18 | 8.1 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 2° / -1° | 263 | 21.2 | 19.3 | 11.2 | 0.0 |
| Apr | 3° / 1° | 201 | 18.9 | 15 | 14.5 | 0.0 |
| May | 5° / 3° | 143 | 16.7 | 8.8 | 17.7 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 8° / 6° | 124 | 14.8 | 1.9 | 19.8 | 1.0 |
| Jul | 9° / 7° | 138 | 16.8 | 0.1 | 18.9 | 1.5 |
| Aug | 9° / 7° | 179 | 16.7 | 0.1 | 15.9 | 1.6 |
| Sep | 8° / 5° | 273 | 20.4 | 4 | 12.7 | 0.8 |
| Oct | 5° / 3° | 285 | 20.1 | 10.7 | 9.4 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 3° / 0° | 270 | 19.4 | 15.4 | 6.3 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 2° / -1° | 306 | 21.9 | 18.9 | 4.2 | 0.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 11% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Vik gets around 873 mm of rain and snow over 64 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 23 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 4 h 54 min in early December to 9 h 30 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 0.3 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Vik?
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 Vik.
What to pack for Vik in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Vik sees daytime highs around 2°C and nights near -1°C. Pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear. Worth having: a windbreaker. About 64 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Vik in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 8°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea offshore is warmest in August at about 12°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) | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8 | Bracing |
| Feb | 7 | Bracing |
| Mar | 7 | Bracing |
| Apr | 8 | Bracing |
| May | 8 | Bracing |
| Jun | 10 | Bracing |
| Jul | 11 | Bracing |
| Aug | 12 | Bracing |
| Sep | 10 | Bracing |
| Oct | 9 | Bracing |
| Nov | 8 | Bracing |
| Dec | 8 | Bracing |
UV index in Vik 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 Vik peaks around June 19 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 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 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 | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 4 | Moderate |
| Jun | 5 | Moderate |
| Jul | 5 | Moderate |
| Aug | 3 | Moderate |
| Sep | 2 | Low |
| Oct | 1 | Low |
| Nov | 0 | Low |
| Dec | 0 | Low |
Where is Vik?
Vik sits at 63.4°N, 19.0°W, 0 m above sea level, in Iceland. The nearest listed city is Hafnarfjörður, 161 km away.
Topography around Vik
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Vik.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Vik has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 492 m around an average of 96 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,219 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,623 m.
The land around Vik is covered by grassland (45%) and water (31%) within 3 km, water (47%) and grassland (28%) within 16 km, and water (42%) and grassland (23%) within 80 km.
Iceland travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 118% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $98,323
- 2025
- Happiness
- 7.5 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 100%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 1.3
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 2
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- 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 Vik (63.4194°, -19.0097°, elevation 0 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.