Climate and average weather in Tønsberg

In Tønsberg, the summers are mild, showery, and partly cloudy and the winters are very cold, snowy, and mostly cloudy.

Best: late May to early September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Tønsberg typically varies from -2°C to 20°C, and is rarely below -11°C or above 24°C. July is the hottest month of the year, while January is the coldest.

Based on the travel score, the best time of year to visit Tønsberg for warm-weather activities is from late May to early September.

Hottest
Jul
20°
Coldest
Jan
-2°
Wettest
Oct
120 mm
Driest
Apr
52 mm
Rain / yr
998 mm
132 wet days
Daylight
5.8–18.2 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
16 m
59.3°N
Clearest
May
56% cloud

Tønsberg is city in Vestfold county, Norway.

Air quality
Good
PM2.5 6.9 µg/m³ · 2019
Density
5,362/km²
people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Tønsberg weather by month, at a glance

The whole year in one picture — sky, rain, humidity, temperature and travel score. Click any band to jump to its full chart.

Each stripe is one measure across the whole year, stacked so a single day reads top to bottom. The sky band runs overcast grey on top down to clear blue at the base — more blue means sunnier — followed by the rainfall curve, the humidity band, a temperature strip that tints each stretch of the year by how warm its average high is, and the travel-score line at the foot. Scan straight down any date to read that day across every measure at once; the score climbs highest around late May to early September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Daily average highs and lows in Tønsberg, from 1991–2020 of climate data. The shaded bands show the range most days fall in — 10th to 90th percentile.

The hot season lasts 3.7 months, from May 26 to September 15, with daily high temperatures above 16°C. The hottest month of the year in Tønsberg is July, with an average high of 20°C and low of 15°C.

The cool season lasts 3.8 months, from November 23 to March 18, with daily high temperatures below 5°C. The coldest month of the year in Tønsberg is January, with an average low of -2°C and high of 2°C.

Days typically run about 4°C warmer than nights year-round.

-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan2-2
Feb2-2
Mar50
Apr94
May148
Jun1812
Jul2015
Aug1915
Sep1611
Oct107
Nov63
Dec3-1

How hot and cold Tønsberg really feels

Feels-like highFeels-like lowactual air temp

The felt-temperature range through the year — heat index on the day's high (summer humidity), wind chill on the night's low (winter wind). The dashed lines are the plain thermometer; the gap is how much hotter or colder it really feels.

On the coldest nights, wind chill pulls the feels-like down to about -8°C (around January 29), with roughly 158 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C), worst in January.

-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan12-7-2
Feb22-7-2
Mar55-40
Apr9904
May141468
Jun18181212
Jul20201515
Aug19191515
Sep16161111
Oct101047
Nov66-13
Dec33-5-1

Average hourly temperature in Tønsberg

A compact picture of the whole year, hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled average temperature. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

Read left to right for the day of the year and top to bottom for the hour of the day; the color is the modeled temperature, cool blues through to hot reds on the same scale as the other charts. A vertical slice is a single day's swing — coolest just before dawn, warmest in the mid-afternoon — while a horizontal slice follows one hour across the seasons. The darker overlay marks night and the lighter one the twilight around sunrise and sunset. Colors run warmest on July afternoons, near 20°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -2°C.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM

Tønsberg weather by month

Every month at a glance. Click a month for its detailed page.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan / -2°8212.57.86.60.0
Feb / -2°588.76.38.70.0
Mar / 568.64.511.30.2
Apr / 528.21.214.11.9
May14° / 669.50.216.64.2
Jun18° / 12°8210.4018.15.7
Jul20° / 15°8210.3017.56.3
Aug19° / 15°9112.4015.35.9
Sep16° / 11°10711.4012.64.6
Oct10° / 12012.90.79.82.2
Nov / 1151437.30.4
Dec / -1°8612.95.55.90.0

Chance of rain

How likely it is to rain on a typical day, and how that shifts across the wetter and drier seasons.

Tønsberg gets about 998 mm of precipitation a year. On a typical day the chance of rain is often wet, but that rises and falls sharply with the seasons.

The wetter season lasts 6.0 months, from around Aug 1 to Jan 29, peaking in November at about 47% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Mar 23.

October is the wettest month by volume, with 120 mm over about 13 wet days; April is the driest, with 52 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwetterdrierwettermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetNov 3 · 47%Mar 23 · 23%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan4013
Feb329
Mar289
Apr268
May3110
Jun3510
Jul3410
Aug3912
Sep3911
Oct4213
Nov4714
Dec4213

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Tønsberg collects about 998 mm of rain across 132 wet days — roughly 83 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. October is the wettest month with 120 mm, while April is the driest at just 52 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 34% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100125150JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec825856526682829110712011586
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan82138
Feb5896
Mar5695
Apr5281
May66100
Jun82100
Jul82100
Aug91120
Sep107110
Oct120131
Nov115143
Dec86136

Snow in Tønsberg

Average snowy days through the year, the snow-season span, and estimated snowfall — for ski trips and the perennial 'will there be snow at Christmas?' question.

Tønsberg averages about 29 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 13 to Apr 30 — about 6.6 months.

January is snowiest, with roughly 8 days of snow and an estimated 42 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 130 cm of snow.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonJan 29
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan842
Feb631
Mar520
Apr16
May00
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct12
Nov313
Dec616

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

How often the daytime sky is clear, partly cloudy or overcast.

In Tønsberg, the average share of the sky covered by clouds shows moderate seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year begins around March 17 and lasts for 6.3 months, ending around September 23. The clearest month is July, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 54% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 24 and lasts for 5.7 months, ending around March 16. The cloudiest month is December, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 71% of the time.

0%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJul 14 · 55%Nov 29 · 27%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan3169
Feb3664
Mar4258
Apr4753
May5149
Jun5149
Jul5446
Aug5050
Sep4456
Oct3664
Nov2971
Dec2971

Daylight, sunrise and sunset

DaylightNight

Hours of daylight through the year, with sunrise and sunset times.

The gold band is daylight — sunrise runs along its lower edge, sunset along the upper — so it widens toward summer and pinches toward winter, with night the dark area above and below. The longest day, around June 15, brings about 18 h 12 min of light; the shortest, around December 14, only 5 h 48 min — a swing of roughly 12 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan6.69:123:44
Feb8.78:104:56
Mar11.36:486:08
Apr14.15:157:23
May16.63:568:34
Jun18.13:139:24
Jul17.53:389:10
Aug15.34:448:01
Sep12.65:576:28
Oct9.87:094:58
Nov7.38:263:41
Dec5.99:203:09

Sunny days

How many genuinely sunny days each month brings — days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — banded into plain-language zones.

Tønsberg averages about 8 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 5 and 11 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 6.6 months, from around Mar 12 to Sep 27. The sunniest month is May, with roughly 10 sunny days (mixed).

The greyest month is December, down near 6 sunny days — about 43% fewer than the May peak.

051015JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedMay 3111 daysDec 15 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan6Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar9Mixed
Apr9Mixed
May10Mixed
Jun9Mixed
Jul10Mixed
Aug10Mixed
Sep8Mixed
Oct8Gloomy
Nov6Gloomy
Dec6Gloomy

Humidity comfort

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Share of days at each humidity comfort level, based on the dew point — the measure that tracks how muggy it actually feels.

Humidity comfort is graded by the dew point — the temperature at which the air would be fully saturated — because it tracks how muggy it actually feels far better than relative humidity does. A low dew point feels dry and crisp; a high one feels sticky and oppressive no matter the reading on a humidity gauge.

In Tønsberg, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in July, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 11% of the time — humidity is not something you need to plan around here.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecMay 11 · 100%Jul 31 · 81%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
Jan10000
Feb10000
Mar10000
Apr10000
May9820
Jun87121
Jul523611
Aug533413
Sep87121
Oct9910
Nov10000
Dec10000

Wind

Average wind speed through the year, banded into plain-language speed zones so a number reads as 'breezy' or 'calm' without knowing the scale.

This is the average sustained wind speed at the standard 10 metres above open ground — the steady flow a weather station reports, not the sharper gusts that come and go, which can run half again as fast. It's the number that says whether a place is generally breezy or calm.

Across the year, average wind speed in Tønsberg is typically light breeze, near 15 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.2 months, from around Sep 8 to Mar 15. The windiest month is January, averaging about 17 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Mar 16 to Sep 7, with July the calmest month at about 13 km/h.

0510152025JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezebreezyJan 10 · 18 km/hJul 25 · 13 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan17light breeze
Feb16light breeze
Mar15light breeze
Apr14light breeze
May13light breeze
Jun13light breeze
Jul13light breeze
Aug13light breeze
Sep15light breeze
Oct16light breeze
Nov17light breeze
Dec17light breeze

Best time to visit Tønsberg

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Tønsberg throughout the year, we compute two travel scores — one for general sightseeing, one for beach and pool weather.

Around late August, Tønsberg is still near the tail of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds already thinning.

Inferred from the travel-score curve; month-by-month visitor numbers are a planned addition.

The travel score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 18°C and 28°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Tønsberg for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to early September, with a peak score in the third week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 15 · 6.3

The travel score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

Travel score (0–10)Rating
Jan0.0poor
Feb0.0poor
Mar0.2poor
Apr1.9poor
May4.2fair
Jun5.6good
Jul6.3good
Aug5.9good
Sep4.6fair
Oct2.3poor
Nov0.4poor
Dec0.0poor

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with daytime highs between 24°C and 34°C. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Tønsberg for hot-weather activities is from early July to mid August, with a peak score in the last week of July.

024681012JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timebeach/pool scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 27 · 3.5

The beach/pool score (filled area), and its constituents: the temperature score (red line), the cloud cover score (blue line), and the precipitation score (green line).

What to pack for Tønsberg, by month

EssentialRecommendedOptional

Month by month, what's worth putting in the bag — from the temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind. Tap a month for a quick packing note.

For a warm-season trip around July (highs near 20°C), the essentials are rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near 2°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Tønsberg sees daytime highs around 20°C and nights near 15°C. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 10 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Tønsberg

Average ocean temperature at the nearest coast, month by month, banded into swim-comfort zones — the other half of the beach question.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 16 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.

0°5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan4Bracing
Feb3Bracing
Mar3Bracing
Apr6Bracing
May11Bracing
Jun15Bracing
Jul18Cool
Aug18Cool
Sep15Cool
Oct12Bracing
Nov9Bracing
Dec6Bracing

UV index (midday) in Tønsberg by month

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV index through the year, shaded by the WHO exposure levels — how much sun protection each month calls for.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Tønsberg peaks around July 17 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 17UV 5Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul5Moderate
Aug5Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low

Average hourly UV index in Tønsberg

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Modeled clear-sky UV for every hour of every day — when in the day sun protection actually matters.

The whole year hour by hour: each column is a day, each row an hour, and the color is the modeled clear-sky UV index — the midday peak scaled down as the sun sits lower in the sky. Darker overlays mark night, lighter ones the civil-twilight hours around sunrise and sunset.

UV falls off far faster than brightness as the sun drops, so even in July the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 6 hours a day reach index 3 (protection recommended). Mornings and late afternoons stay comparatively gentle year round.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec12 AM2 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AM
UV ≥ 3 (h/day)UV ≥ 6 (h/day)
Jan00
Feb00
Mar00
Apr00
May5.50
Jun60
Jul60
Aug5.50
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

Chance of a frost-free dayTypical season (≥50%)

The growing season in Tønsberg typically lasts about 269 days, from around March 17 to December 10 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from April 11 to November 4.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonMar 1750%Apr 1190%Nov 490%Dec 1050%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan3431
Feb3228
Mar5131
Apr9111
May1000
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep1000
Oct970
Nov7926
Dec4631

Growing degree days

Degree days (base 10°C)Frost-free shaded

Growing degree days tally heat above 10°C: each day adds however many degrees its average temperature runs over that threshold, and cold days add nothing. Tønsberg banks about 739 degree days a year, and the running total — which growers use to time plantings and predict maturity — climbs fastest around July.

0200400600800JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Growing degree days (°C·days)
Jan0
Feb0
Mar0
Apr0
May40
Jun149
Jul230
Aug216
Sep100
Oct3
Nov0
Dec0

Solar energy

Average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground, banded into brightness zones so the number means something at a glance.

Solar energy is how much sunlight actually reaches the ground each day, measured in kilowatt-hours per square metre (kWh/m²) — the combined effect of how long the sun is up, how high it climbs, and how much cloud gets in the way. It's the raw fuel a solar panel has to work with: for scale, 1 kWh/m² a day is dim and wintry, while 7+ is desert-bright.

Tønsberg receives about 2.8 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.2 and 5.8 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.7 months, from around Mar 22 to Sep 12. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.7 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.2 kWh/m² — roughly 96% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 65.8 kWhDec 210.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.4Dim
Feb1.0Dim
Mar2.4Moderate
Apr3.9Moderate
May5.3Bright
Jun5.8Bright
Jul5.4Bright
Aug4.2Bright
Sep2.6Moderate
Oct1.3Dim
Nov0.5Dim
Dec0.2Dim

Where is Tønsberg?

Tønsberg sits at 59.3°N, 10.4°E, 16 m above sea level, in Norway. The nearest listed city is Horten, 17 km away.

Topography around Tønsberg

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Tønsberg has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 101 m around an average of 22 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 222 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 907 m.

The land around Tønsberg is covered by trees (32%) and artificial surfaces (20%) within 3 km, water (38%) and trees (33%) within 16 km, and trees (58%) and water (30%) within 80 km.

3 km
101 m
16 km
222 m
80 km
907 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Horten 17 km · Sandefjord 19 km · Moss 23 km · Fredrikstad 30 km · Larvik 32 km · Sarpsborg 40 km · Porsgrunn 45 km · Skien 46 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
Church of Norway 68%other Christian 4%Muslim 3%Roman Catholic 3%

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 Tønsberg (59.2675°, 10.4076°, elevation 16 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. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. 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).