Climate and average weather in Gävle

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

Best: late May to mid September

Over the course of the year, the temperature in Gävle typically varies from -6°C to 22°C, and is rarely below -14°C or above 28°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 Gävle for warm-weather activities is from late May to mid September.

Hottest
Jul
22°
Coldest
Jan
-5°
Wettest
Aug
72 mm
Driest
Feb
28 mm
Rain / yr
555 mm
112 wet days
Daylight
5.3–18.7 h
shortest–longest
Elevation
3 m
60.7°N
Clearest
May
63% cloud

Gävle is urban area in Gävle Municipality, Sweden.

Air quality
Good
PM10 16.2 µg/m³ · 2019
Founded
1446

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

Gävle 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 mid September.

Temperature through the year

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

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

The hot season lasts 3.5 months, from May 28 to September 10, with daily high temperatures above 17°C. The hottest month of the year in Gävle is July, with an average high of 22°C and low of 12°C.

The cool season lasts 4.0 months, from November 15 to March 15, with daily high temperatures below 4°C. The coldest month of the year in Gävle is January, with an average low of -5°C and high of -0°C.

Days typically run about 7°C warmer than nights, with the widest day–night swing (around 10°C) in May.

-10°10°20°30°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
Jan0-5
Feb0-6
Mar4-3
Apr90
May155
Jun199
Jul2212
Aug2111
Sep168
Oct93
Nov40
Dec1-4

How hot and cold Gävle 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 -12°C (around January 30), with roughly 205 freezing days a year (feels-like at or below 0°C) 70 of them bitterly cold — worst in January.

-10°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Feels-like high (°C)Air high (°C)Feels-like low (°C)Air low (°C)
Jan00-11-5
Feb00-11-6
Mar44-8-3
Apr99-40
May151525
Jun191989
Jul22221212
Aug21211111
Sep161658
Oct9903
Nov44-40
Dec11-9-4

Average hourly temperature in Gävle

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 22°C, and coldest before dawn in January, near -5°C.

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

Gävle 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-0° / -5°338.16.96.20.0
Feb / -6°287.16.98.50.0
Mar / -3°287.46.111.30.1
Apr / 337.62.214.22.1
May15° / 449.30.416.94.5
Jun19° / 6110.5018.65.9
Jul22° / 12°6811.5017.96.3
Aug21° / 11°7212015.56.0
Sep16° / 458.8012.64.9
Oct / 559.70.59.71.9
Nov / -0°469.93.970.1
Dec / -4°429.66.95.40.0

Chance of rain

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

Gävle gets about 555 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 3.6 months, from around May 22 to Sep 8, peaking in August at about 40% chance on a given day. The drier stretch runs the rest of the year, bottoming out around Mar 22.

August is the wettest month by volume, with 72 mm over about 12 wet days; February is the driest, with 28 mm. Some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdrierwetterdriermostly drysome rainoften wetvery wetAug 15 · 40%Mar 22 · 23%
Rain on a day (%)Rain days
Jan278
Feb257
Mar247
Apr268
May299
Jun3511
Jul3712
Aug3812
Sep319
Oct3110
Nov3310
Dec3110

Monthly rainfall

Over a full year, Gävle collects about 555 mm of rain across 112 wet days — roughly 46 mm in an average month.

It doesn’t fall evenly. August is the wettest month with 72 mm, while February is the driest at just 28 mm. The three wettest months alone bring about 36% of the year’s total, and some of the cold-season precipitation falls as snow.

0255075100JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec332828334461687245554642
Rainfall (mm)Rain daysSnow days
Jan3387
Feb2877
Mar2876
Apr3382
May4490
Jun61110
Jul68120
Aug72120
Sep4590
Oct55101
Nov46104
Dec42107

Snow in Gävle

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.

Gävle averages about 34 snowy days a year. Snow season runs roughly Oct 17 to May 13 — about 6.9 months.

December is snowiest, with roughly 7 days of snow and an estimated 26 cm of snowfall. Over the year that adds up to an estimated 124 cm of snow.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecsnow seasonsnow seasonDec 29
Snow daysSnowfall (cm)
Jan725
Feb724
Mar619
Apr210
May03
Jun00
Jul00
Aug00
Sep00
Oct12
Nov415
Dec726

Clouds and sunshine

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

In Gävle, 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 June 25 and lasts for 3.1 months, ending around September 26. The clearest month is May, when the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 41% of the time on average.

The cloudier part of the year begins around September 27 and lasts for 5.3 months, ending around March 6. The cloudiest month is November, when it is overcast or mostly cloudy 76% 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 · 42%Nov 24 · 22%clearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercastcloudierclearercloudier
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
Jan2872
Feb3169
Mar3961
Apr4159
May4159
Jun3763
Jul4159
Aug3763
Sep3763
Oct3268
Nov2476
Dec2872

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 16, brings about 18 h 42 min of light; the shortest, around December 15, only 5 h 18 min — a swing of roughly 13 h 24 min.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AMJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
Jan6.28:573:05
Feb8.57:494:23
Mar11.36:225:40
Apr14.24:447:00
May16.93:198:16
Jun18.62:329:12
Jul17.92:588:56
Aug15.54:117:40
Sep12.65:296:02
Oct9.76:464:27
Nov7.08:093:05
Dec5.49:082:27

Sunny days

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

Gävle averages about 6 sunny days a month — counting the days the sky stays clear or mostly clear — with a clear seasonal swing between 4 and 8 days.

The sunnier stretch runs 4.2 months, from around Feb 5 to Jun 11. The sunniest month is May, with roughly 7 sunny days (gloomy).

The greyest month is November, down near 5 sunny days — about 36% fewer than the May peak.

0510JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgreyersunniergreyergloomymixedMay 58 daysNov 294 days
Sunny daysSky
Jan5Gloomy
Feb6Gloomy
Mar7Gloomy
Apr7Gloomy
May7Gloomy
Jun6Gloomy
Jul6Gloomy
Aug5Gloomy
Sep6Gloomy
Oct6Gloomy
Nov5Gloomy
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 Gävle, the air stays dry or comfortable essentially all year. Even in August, the muggiest month, it feels humid or worse only about 7% 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 30 · 100%Aug 1 · 89%humidcomfortabledrycomfortablehumidcomfortable
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)Muggy (%)
Jan100000
Feb100000
Mar100000
Apr100000
May100000
Jun94600
Jul682650
Aug682561
Sep95500
Oct100000
Nov100000
Dec100000

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 Gävle is typically light breeze, near 13 km/h, and varies little with the seasons.

The windier part of the year lasts 6.3 months, from around Sep 25 to Apr 3. The windiest month is January, averaging about 15 km/h (light breeze).

The calmer part of the year runs from around Apr 4 to Sep 24, with July the calmest month at about 11 km/h.

05101520JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecwindiercalmerwindiercalmlight breezeJan 1 · 15 km/hJul 20 · 11 km/h
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
Jan15light breeze
Feb14light breeze
Mar13light breeze
Apr12light breeze
May12calm
Jun11calm
Jul11calm
Aug11calm
Sep13light breeze
Oct13light breeze
Nov14light breeze
Dec15light breeze

Best time to visit Gävle

TravelBeach/poolTemperatureCloudsPrecipitation

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

Around early June, Gävle is still near the start of its best-weather window — great conditions with the peak-season crowds not yet at full swing.

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 Gävle for general outdoor tourist activities is from late May to mid September, with a peak score in the last week of July.

0246810JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbest timetravel scoretemperaturecloudsprecipitationJul 30 · 6.4

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
Apr2.1poor
May4.5fair
Jun5.9good
Jul6.3good
Aug6.0good
Sep4.8fair
Oct1.9poor
Nov0.1poor
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 Gävle 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 28 · 4.7

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 Gävle, 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 22°C), the essentials are rain gear and sun protection. In the cold season around January (highs near -0°C), pack a warm layer, a heavy coat and rain gear.

Light clothing
Warm layer
Winter coat
Rain gear
Sun protection
Windbreaker

In July, Gävle sees daytime highs around 22°C and nights near 12°C. Worth packing: rain gear and sun protection. About 12 days see rain.

Sea temperature near Gävle

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 14 km away) is warmest in August at about 17°C and coldest in February near 1°C.

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

0°10°20°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcoolrefreshing
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan1Bracing
Feb1Bracing
Mar1Bracing
Apr2Bracing
May6Bracing
Jun11Bracing
Jul16Cool
Aug17Cool
Sep13Bracing
Oct9Bracing
Nov6Bracing
Dec3Bracing

UV index (midday) in Gävle 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 Gävle peaks around June 17 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJun 17UV 5Dec 19UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb1Low
Mar2Low
Apr2Moderate
May4Moderate
Jun5Moderate
Jul4Moderate
Aug4Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct1Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low

Average hourly UV index in Gävle

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 June the burn window is concentrated in the middle of the day: about 6.5 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
May50
Jun6.50
Jul5.50
Aug40
Sep00
Oct00
Nov00
Dec00
Almanac & agriculture

Growing season

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

The growing season in Gävle typically lasts about 213 days, from around April 15 to November 13 — the span where a frost-free day is more likely than not. It is reliably frost-free from May 15 to October 5.

0%25%50%75%100%JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecgrowing seasonApr 1550%May 1590%Oct 590%Nov 1350%
Frost-free chance (%)Frost nights
Jan1731
Feb1528
Mar2431
Apr5230
May9015
Jun1000
Jul1000
Aug1000
Sep980
Oct7926
Nov4830
Dec2531

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. Gävle banks about 590 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
May14
Jun121
Jul218
Aug186
Sep52
Oct0
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.

Gävle receives about 2.6 kWh/m² a day of solar energy on average — moderate — with a clear seasonal swing between 0.2 and 5.6 kWh/m².

The brighter stretch of the year lasts 5.7 months, from around Mar 23 to Sep 12. The brightest month is June, averaging about 5.5 kWh/m² (bright).

The dimmest month is December, down near 0.2 kWh/m² — roughly 97% less than the June peak.

01234567JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecdimmerbrighterdimmerdimmoderatebrightintenseJun 45.6 kWhDec 160.2 kWh
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
Jan0.3Dim
Feb0.9Dim
Mar2.3Moderate
Apr3.9Moderate
May5.2Bright
Jun5.5Bright
Jul5.2Bright
Aug4.0Moderate
Sep2.5Moderate
Oct1.1Dim
Nov0.4Dim
Dec0.2Dim

Where is Gävle?

Gävle sits at 60.7°N, 17.1°E, 3 m above sea level, in Sweden. The nearest listed city is Sandviken, 21 km away.

Gamla UppsalaUppsalaBorlängeEnköpingHudiksvallVästerås

Topography around Gävle

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Gävle has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 55 m around an average of 20 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 104 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 499 m.

The land around Gävle is covered by trees (45%) and artificial surfaces (35%) within 3 km, trees (70%) within 16 km, and trees (63%) and water (26%) within 80 km.

3 km
55 m
16 km
104 m
80 km
499 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfaceswaterwetland
Nearby: Sandviken 21 km · Falun 83 km · Gamla Uppsala 90 km · Uppsala 95 km · Borlänge 95 km · Enköping 116 km · Hudiksvall 117 km · Västerås 122 km

Sweden travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 2
Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs
Type C / F
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 87% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$63,133
2025
Happiness
7.3 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.1
per 100k, 2023
Road deaths
3.1
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
English
Very high
EF EPI 609
Religion
Church of Sweden 54%none or unspecified 37%other 9%

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 Gävle (60.6745°, 17.1417°, 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).