Soran in Winter

In winter (December, January and February), Soran sees average daytime highs around 8°C and overnight lows near -2°C, with 438 mm of precipitation over about 34 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 8°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 36% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.

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

Avg daytime high
8°C
coldest season of the year
Avg overnight low
-2°C
Precipitation
438 mm
34 wet days
Avg wind
4 km/h
Travel score
1.1
weakest season of the year
Months
Dec · Jan · Feb

Temperature in Soran in Winter

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C.

A typical winter day in Soran reaches about 8°C and drops to -2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.

-10°10°20°DecJanFeb

How winter really feels in Soran

Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 78 that feel at or below 0°C.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
78
wind chill below the day's low

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

Soran 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 / -3°15011.88.89.80.5
Feb / -2°15612.47.610.61.2
Mar13° / 16913.94.311.73.2
Apr18° / 13212.90.312.95.5
May24° / 12°608.7013.97.3
Jun31° / 17°51.5014.55.9
Jul36° / 20°20.6014.33.1
Aug36° / 20°10.3013.43.0
Sep31° / 15°30.7012.26.0
Oct24° / 10°455011.18.0
Nov15° / 1008.60.7104.8
Dec / -1°1331059.51.7

Cloud cover in Winter

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 36% of the time across winter.

0%25%50%75%100%DecJanFeb

Chance of precipitation in Winter

Any precipitationSnow

Soran gets around 438 mm of rain and snow over 34 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

0%20%40%60%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 4 km/h across winter.

0246810DecJanFeb

Sunrise & sunset in Winter

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 42 min in early December to 11 h 06 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 2.7 kWh/m².

01234DecJanFeb
Planning a trip in winter

Hazard calendar for Soran

In seasonPeak

In winter, Soran overlaps its rainy season season. The full year is below, with each hazard's peak months called out.

Soran's rainy season runs November–April, when most of the year's rain falls.

Soran sees seasonal dust haze (May), heaviest in May.

Rainy season
Dust
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Is winter a good time to visit Soran?

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.

1.1
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 Soran.

What to pack for Soran in Winter

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

In winter, Soran sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near -2°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 34 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Soran in Winter

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Soran peaks around June 21 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 3 (moderate).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 10 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModerateHighVery highExtremeVery highHighModerateJun 21UV 11Jan 1UV 3
UV index (midday)Level
Jan3Moderate
Feb3Moderate
Mar4Moderate
Apr6High
May9Very high
Jun11Extreme
Jul10Extreme
Aug10Very high
Sep8Very high
Oct5High
Nov3Moderate
Dec3Moderate

Air quality in Soran in Winter

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Soran is worst in April — around 38 µg/m³ PM2.5 (poor), and holds fairly steady the rest of the year.

Modeled monthly averages (CAMS reanalysis, 2015–2024).

010203040JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecModeratePoorModerateApr 1338 µg/m³Dec 1325 µg/m³
PM2.5 (µg/m³)Level
Jan26Moderate
Feb30Moderate
Mar37Poor
Apr38Poor
May37Poor
Jun30Moderate
Jul29Moderate
Aug29Moderate
Sep28Moderate
Oct29Moderate
Nov25Moderate
Dec25Moderate
Location & terrain

Where is Soran?

Soran sits at 36.7°N, 44.5°E, 741 m above sea level, in Iraq. The nearest listed city is Ṟuwandiz, 5.0 km away.

HajiawaPiranshahrRānyah

Topography around Soran

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Soran has large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 792 m around an average of 714 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,150 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 3,445 m.

The land around Soran is covered by grassland (39%) and artificial surfaces (36%) within 3 km, grassland (76%) within 16 km, and grassland (70%) within 80 km.

3 km
792 m
16 km
2,150 m
80 km
3,445 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
Winter weather nearby: Ṟuwandiz 5.0 km · Khalīfān 13 km · Ḩarir 21 km · Shaqlāwah 34 km · Pīrmām 43 km · Hajiawa 52 km · Piranshahr 54 km · Rānyah 54 km

Iraq travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / D / G
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 38% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$5,410
2025
Happiness
5.2 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
60%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
9.5
per 100k, 2013
Road deaths
27.3
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
Upper middle
World Bank
English
Very low
EF EPI 406
Religion
Christian 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 Soran (36.6556°, 44.5422°, elevation 741 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.