Samsun in Winter
In winter (December, January and February), Samsun sees average daytime highs around 8°C and overnight lows near 2°C, with 246 mm of precipitation over about 37 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Samsun's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Samsun's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 8°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 2°C
- Precipitation
- 246 mm
- 37 wet days
- Avg wind
- 10 km/h
- Travel score
- 1.4
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Samsun in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 8°C.
A typical winter day in Samsun reaches about 8°C and drops to 2°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is December, the coolest January.
How winter really feels in Samsun
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 57 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Samsun 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 | 8° / 2° | 82 | 13.2 | 7.1 | 9.4 | 1.0 |
| Feb | 8° / 2° | 73 | 12 | 6.5 | 10.3 | 1.3 |
| Mar | 11° / 4° | 92 | 14.6 | 5.3 | 11.7 | 2.3 |
| Apr | 14° / 7° | 79 | 13.1 | 0.8 | 13.1 | 4.0 |
| May | 19° / 11° | 79 | 12.7 | 0 | 14.3 | 5.7 |
| Jun | 23° / 15° | 60 | 10 | 0 | 14.9 | 7.0 |
| Jul | 25° / 18° | 36 | 7.2 | 0 | 14.7 | 7.8 |
| Aug | 26° / 18° | 35 | 7.3 | 0 | 13.7 | 7.7 |
| Sep | 23° / 15° | 65 | 9.9 | 0 | 12.3 | 7.0 |
| Oct | 19° / 11° | 89 | 11.6 | 0.1 | 10.9 | 5.8 |
| Nov | 14° / 7° | 81 | 9.8 | 1.6 | 9.7 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 9° / 4° | 92 | 12.1 | 4.4 | 9.1 | 1.9 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 23% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Samsun gets around 246 mm of rain and snow over 37 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 9 h 12 min in early December to 10 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 2.0 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Samsun?
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 Samsun.
What to pack for Samsun in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Samsun sees daytime highs around 8°C and nights near 2°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: a heavy coat and rain gear. About 37 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Samsun in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 10°C across winter — 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 25°C and coldest in February near 8°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from Jun 13 to Oct 11 — about 4 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 10 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 16 | 12 |
| Comfort | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Refreshing | Refreshing | Warm | Refreshing | Cool | Cool | Bracing |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | Bracing |
| Feb | 8 | Bracing |
| Mar | 8 | Bracing |
| Apr | 10 | Bracing |
| May | 15 | Cool |
| Jun | 21 | Refreshing |
| Jul | 24 | Refreshing |
| Aug | 25 | Warm |
| Sep | 23 | Refreshing |
| Oct | 20 | Cool |
| Nov | 16 | Cool |
| Dec | 12 | Bracing |
UV index in Samsun in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Samsun peaks around June 23 at about 8 (very high) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near December 22 at about 2 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 2 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| Level | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | High | Very high | Very high | Very high | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 2 | Low |
| Feb | 3 | Moderate |
| Mar | 3 | Moderate |
| Apr | 6 | High |
| May | 7 | High |
| Jun | 8 | Very high |
| Jul | 8 | Very high |
| Aug | 8 | Very high |
| Sep | 7 | High |
| Oct | 4 | Moderate |
| Nov | 2 | Moderate |
| Dec | 2 | Low |
Air quality in Samsun in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Samsun is worst in March — around 19 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.8× the cleanest month (September, 11 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Samsun's WHO annual average of 13.9 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 13 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 13 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 13 | Moderate |
| Feb | 15 | Moderate |
| Mar | 19 | Moderate |
| Apr | 18 | Moderate |
| May | 16 | Moderate |
| Jun | 13 | Moderate |
| Jul | 11 | Good |
| Aug | 11 | Good |
| Sep | 11 | Good |
| Oct | 13 | Moderate |
| Nov | 14 | Moderate |
| Dec | 13 | Moderate |
Where is Samsun?
Samsun sits at 41.3°N, 36.3°E, 64 m above sea level, in Turkey. The nearest listed city is Tekkeköy, 13 km away.
Topography around Samsun
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Samsun.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Samsun has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 195 m around an average of 48 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 855 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,045 m.
The land around Samsun is covered by artificial surfaces (57%) and water (23%) within 3 km, water (40%) and trees (25%) within 16 km, and trees (39%) and water (30%) within 80 km.
Turkey travel facts
- Travel advisory
- Level 2
- Exercise Increased Caution
- Power plugs
- Type C / F
- 230 V · 50 Hz
- Prices
- ≈ 41% of US
- price level, 2025
- GDP per capita
- $18,599
- 2025
- Happiness
- 5.3 / 10
- World Happiness, 2025
- Homicide rate
- 3.2
- per 100k, 2023
- Road deaths
- 6.7
- per 100k/yr, 2019
- Income group
- Upper middle
- World Bank
- English
- Low
- EF EPI 488
- 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 Samsun (41.2798°, 36.3361°, elevation 64 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.