Skien in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Skien sees average daytime highs around 1°C and overnight lows near -5°C, with 246 mm of precipitation over about 34 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 3rd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 1°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Skien's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Skien's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 1°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- -5°C
- Precipitation
- 246 mm
- 34 wet days
- Avg wind
- 10 km/h
- Travel score
- 0.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Skien in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 1°C.
A typical winter day in Skien reaches about 1°C and drops to -5°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Skien
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.
Skien 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 | -0° / -5° | 96 | 12.1 | 10.6 | 6.6 | 0.0 |
| Feb | 1° / -5° | 64 | 9.3 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 0.0 |
| Mar | 5° / -3° | 65 | 9.1 | 6.9 | 11.3 | 0.2 |
| Apr | 10° / 1° | 61 | 9.6 | 3.6 | 14.1 | 2.1 |
| May | 15° / 5° | 77 | 10.7 | 0.6 | 16.6 | 4.4 |
| Jun | 18° / 9° | 96 | 12.1 | 0 | 18.1 | 5.6 |
| Jul | 20° / 12° | 102 | 12.5 | 0 | 17.5 | 5.9 |
| Aug | 19° / 11° | 111 | 13.3 | 0 | 15.2 | 5.7 |
| Sep | 15° / 8° | 103 | 11.9 | 0 | 12.6 | 4.3 |
| Oct | 9° / 4° | 108 | 12.6 | 1.4 | 9.8 | 1.9 |
| Nov | 4° / -0° | 109 | 13 | 5.4 | 7.3 | 0.1 |
| Dec | 1° / -4° | 86 | 12.3 | 8.2 | 5.9 | 0.0 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Skien gets around 246 mm of rain and snow over 34 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 10 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 6 h 18 min in early December to 9 h 54 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 0.6 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Skien?
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 Skien.
What to pack for Skien in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Skien sees daytime highs around 1°C and nights near -5°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 34 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Skien in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 5°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 37 km away) is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in February near 3°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) | 5 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 6 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 5 | Bracing |
| Feb | 3 | Bracing |
| Mar | 4 | Bracing |
| Apr | 6 | Bracing |
| May | 11 | Bracing |
| Jun | 15 | Bracing |
| Jul | 17 | Cool |
| Aug | 18 | Cool |
| Sep | 15 | Cool |
| Oct | 12 | Bracing |
| Nov | 9 | Bracing |
| Dec | 6 | Bracing |
UV index in Skien 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 Skien peaks around July 20 at about 5 (moderate) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 19 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 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Level | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Low | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 0 | Low |
| Feb | 1 | Low |
| Mar | 2 | Low |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 4 | Moderate |
| Jun | 4 | Moderate |
| Jul | 5 | Moderate |
| Aug | 5 | Moderate |
| Sep | 3 | Moderate |
| Oct | 1 | Low |
| Nov | 0 | Low |
| Dec | 0 | Low |
Where is Skien?
Skien sits at 59.2°N, 9.6°E, 27 m above sea level, in Norway. The nearest listed city is Porsgrunn, 8.0 km away.
Topography around Skien
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Skien.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Skien has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 300 m around an average of 52 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 635 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,422 m.
The land around Skien is covered by trees (41%) and grassland (20%) within 3 km, trees (77%) within 16 km, and trees (61%) and water (28%) within 80 km.
Norway travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 1
- Exercise Normal Precautions
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 91% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $94,594
- 2025
- Happiness
- 7.2 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Safe drinking water
- 99%
- of population, 2024
- Homicide rate
- 0.7
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 2.1
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- High
- World Bank
- English
- Very high
- EF EPI 613
- 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 Skien (59.2096°, 9.609°, elevation 27 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.