Sortavala weather in December

In December, Sortavala sees average daytime highs of -2°C and overnight lows near -5°C, with 65 mm of precipitation across 13.4 wet days and about 5 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -0°C in the first days to -3°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 4% of the time in December, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 5 h 30 min at the start of December to 5 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, December is Sortavala's 11th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Sortavala's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-2°
10th warmest
Overnight low
-5°
3rd coldest
Precipitation
65 mm
13.4 wet days
Daylight
4 h 54 min
10:26 AM – 3:20 PM
Cloud cover
91%
11th clearest
Wind
18 km/h
1st windiest
Solar energy
0.1 kWh/m²
Travel score
0.0
out of 10

Sortavala is town in the Republic of Karelia, Russia.

Density
1,384/km²
people per km²
Founded
1468

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

Temperature in December

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about -0°C in the first days to -3°C by the end.

A typical December day in Sortavala reaches about -2°C in the afternoon and slips back to -5°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -9°C and 3°C. Set against its neighbours, December runs about 3°C cooler than November and about 2°C warmer than January.

-20°-15°-10°-5°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
10-3
20-3
30-3
40-3
50-4
60-4
70-4
80-4
9-1-4
10-1-4
11-1-4
12-1-5
13-1-5
14-1-5
15-1-5
16-2-5
17-2-6
18-2-6
19-2-6
20-2-6
21-2-6
22-3-7
23-3-7
24-3-7
25-3-7
26-3-7
27-3-7
28-3-7
29-3-7
30-3-7
31-3-7

How December really feels in Sortavala

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
23 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Sortavala weather by month

How December compares with the rest of the year at a glance. December is the 10th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-4° / -9°5112.113.75.90.0
Feb-4° / -9°4410.512.18.40.0
Mar / -5°419.89.911.30.0
Apr / -0°358.43.614.30.7
May13° / 479.20.417.23.5
Jun17° / 10°6110.90195.4
Jul21° / 14°7011.6018.26.1
Aug19° / 12°7512.2015.65.7
Sep14° / 5710.6012.63.7
Oct / 64121.79.60.9
Nov / -1°6312.36.96.70.0
Dec-2° / -5°6513.412.750.0

Cloud cover in December

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 4% of the time in December.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 3% of December, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 93%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
1694
2694
3694
4694
5694
6694
7694
8694
9694
10694
11694
12694
13694
14793
15793
16793
17793
18793
19793
20793
21793
22793
23793
24793
25793
26793
27793
28793
29793
30892
31892

Chance of precipitation in December

Any precipitationSnow

Sortavala gets around 65 mm of rain and snow over 13.4 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 42% and peaks near 43% on the wettest days, and about 13 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
14335
24336
34336
44337
54337
64337
74338
84338
94338
104238
114238
124239
134239
144139
154140
164140
174140
184141
194241
204242
214242
224243
234243
244243
254243
264243
274143
284143
294143
304043
314043

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 18 km/h in December, the windiest month of the year.

Across December, daily wind ranges from about 18 km/h on the calmest days to 19 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

0510152025151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
118light breeze
218light breeze
318light breeze
418light breeze
518light breeze
618light breeze
718light breeze
818light breeze
918light breeze
1018light breeze
1118light breeze
1218light breeze
1318light breeze
1418light breeze
1518light breeze
1618light breeze
1719light breeze
1819light breeze
1919light breeze
2019light breeze
2119light breeze
2219light breeze
2319light breeze
2419light breeze
2519light breeze
2619light breeze
2719light breeze
2819light breeze
2918light breeze
3018light breeze
3118light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in December

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 5 h 30 min at the start of December to 5 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 30 minutes over December. Sunrise moves from 10:01 AM to 10:31 AM, and sunset from 3:33 PM to 3:30 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
15.510:013:33
25.510:033:32
35.410:053:30
45.410:073:29
55.310:093:28
65.310:113:27
75.210:133:26
85.210:153:25
95.110:163:24
105.110:183:23
115.010:203:22
125.010:213:22
135.010:233:21
145.010:243:21
154.910:253:21
164.910:263:20
174.910:273:20
184.910:283:20
194.910:293:20
204.910:303:21
214.810:303:21
224.810:313:21
234.810:313:22
244.910:323:23
254.910:323:23
264.910:323:24
274.910:323:25
284.910:323:26
294.910:323:27
305.010:313:28
315.010:313:30

Solar energy in December

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in December, about 0.1 kWh/m² — the year's lowest.

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0.1 kWh/m² to a high of 5.67 kWh/m² in June across the year — December's 0.1 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.1Dim
20.1Dim
30.1Dim
40.1Dim
50.1Dim
60.1Dim
70.1Dim
80.1Dim
90.1Dim
100.1Dim
110.1Dim
120.1Dim
130.1Dim
140.1Dim
150.1Dim
160.1Dim
170.1Dim
180.1Dim
190.1Dim
200.1Dim
210.1Dim
220.1Dim
230.1Dim
240.1Dim
250.1Dim
260.1Dim
270.1Dim
280.1Dim
290.1Dim
300.1Dim
310.1Dim
Planning a trip in December

Is December a good time to visit Sortavala?

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 Sortavala.

What to pack for Sortavala in December

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

In December, Sortavala sees daytime highs around -2°C and nights near -5°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 13 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

Sea temperature near Sortavala in December

The nearest coast averages about 4°C in December — 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 16°C and coldest in March near 0°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

0°5°10°15°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan2Bracing
Feb1Bracing
Mar0Bracing
Apr1Bracing
May3Bracing
Jun7Bracing
Jul14Bracing
Aug16Cool
Sep13Bracing
Oct9Bracing
Nov6Bracing
Dec4Bracing

UV index in Sortavala 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 Sortavala peaks around July 13 at about 5 (high) — a little sun protection helps at midday. It bottoms out near December 17 at about 0 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 4 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateModerateLowJul 13UV 5Dec 17UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar1Low
Apr3Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul5High
Aug4Moderate
Sep2Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
Location & terrain

Where is Sortavala?

Sortavala sits at 61.7°N, 30.7°E, 3 m above sea level, in Russia. The nearest listed city is Priozërsk, 81 km away.

Topography around Sortavala

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Sortavala has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 98 m around an average of 21 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 188 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 292 m.

The land around Sortavala is covered by trees (47%) and water (21%) within 3 km, trees (66%) and water (23%) within 16 km, and trees (62%) and water (33%) within 80 km.

3 km
98 m
16 km
188 m
80 km
292 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
December weather nearby: Priozërsk 81 km · Savonlinna 98 km · Joensuu 110 km · Svetogorsk 119 km · Imatra 120 km · Kontiolahti 125 km · Lappeenranta 153 km · Vyborg 153 km

Russia travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 4
Do Not Travel
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 32% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$17,547
2025
Happiness
5.8 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
76%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
6.8
per 100k, 2021
Road deaths
12
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Moderate
EF EPI 521
Religion
other Christian 2%

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 Sortavala (61.7123°, 30.7095°, elevation 3 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).