Weather Locations in Estonia

Estonia Weather Overview

Estonia has a maritime temperate climate with all four seasons. Summers are warm and winters are quiet cold. Rainfall is moderately low, falling in frequent showers throughout the year and at its heaviest in summer and autumn. Estonia is a very flat, low-lying country and as such has little regional variation in climate. Small differences are caused by the proximity of different locations to the Baltic Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, and by the direction of the prevailing winds. Estonia is a small country in Eastern Europe sharing land borders with Russia, to the east, and Latvia, to the south. Sweden and Finland share its water borders. The Estonian language and people are of Finnish origin and so share strong ties with their northerly neighbours. The climate of Estonia is very similar to that of coastal Finland.

Estonia’s climate is highly influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and Baltic Sea. Sitting in the northerly part of the temperate zone, Estonia would receive hotter summers and colder winters if it were not for the moderating effects of the Baltic Sea currents and breezes, and for weather fronts travelling over from the Atlantic. While Estonia’s rainfall is not very high, it is constant and cool temperatures mean slow evaporation; this, and flat topography, has lead to a marshy landscape and an abundance of lakes: there are over 1400 in the country.

Summer, from June till August, is very mild with warm days and cool nights. Although rainfall is comparatively high, it is also rather sunny; the clouds tend to clear away quickly after rain showers. August ties with September as the wettest months in the year, though rain levels are still not very high. It is cooler in coastal regions and to the west due to the westerly direction of cooling winds from the Atlantic, and the cooling Baltic Sea. Estonia’s coast is on the southeast of the Baltic Sea where the Gulf of Finland lies. The Baltic Sea is an inland sea and so is affected by weather conditions on land as much as it affects them. It is partially fed by mountain meltwater and stretches high up north, towards the Arctic Circle, making it very cold. The sea sees large seasonal variation in temperature but it never gets warm. In the height of summer the Estonian coast only gets up to around 17°C, and sudden swells of deep water can drop the temperature lower. However, this is the sunniest region of Estonia so while you may not want to swim for long, if at all, it is still a rather pretty. Shallow bays warm up much more and can even get into the mid 20s.

Tallinn, the capital and largest of Estonia’s cities, sits on Estonia’s northern Baltic coast. In summer its average high temperature is 19°C in June, 21°C in July and 20°C in August. Night time lows rest 10°C in June and 12°C in July and August. June is sunniest with ten hours of sunshine per day. Tillinn receives around 80 mm of rain in August and September.

Autumn, from September till November, is very gloomy and quickly becomes cold. Rainfall remains frequent, falling on more days than it doesn’t, though it decreases in volume. This means that it often falls in a tedious drizzle. Sunshine diminishes as clouds smother the sky; in November the sun only comes out for around one hour per day. The temperature drops and by mid November frosts are a regular occurrence. Wet, grey weather is not really what anyone wants in a holiday so Estonia is best avoided in Autumn.

In Tallinn the average high temperature drops to 14°C in September, 9°C in October and 3°C in November. The average low temperature drops from 7°C, to 4°C, to -1°C respectively.

Winter, from December till February, is cold and snowy. Snow falls first in the southeast where temperatures are at their lowest due to distance from the sea. It is often seen in this area early in December, while further northwest it does not settle till January and coastal regions sometimes do not receive any permanent snow cover. However, most of Estonia is covered in a thick blanket of snow from January, throughout winter and into spring. The average high temperature drops below freezing for the whole season apart from on the west coast and on the western islands. Clouds continue to dominate the sky but retreat slightly at the end of the season. The Baltic sea gets very cold and its northern reaches, including Bothnia Bay and the Gulf of Finland, usually freeze. While it is usually unpleasantly dark and grey at this time of year, the snow and ice transform Estonia’s landscape into, ahem, a winter wonderland, no less.

Tallinn sees an average high temperature of -1°C in December dropping to -3°C for January and February. The average low temperature drops to -6°C for December and down to -9°C in January and February. The sea temperature is at its lowest in February and March at an average of 1°C. Across the water

Spring, from March till May, is a time for floods. While rainfall is low, March sees the beginning of the thaw and as snow turns to water Estonia’s many waterways and lakes burst their banks. The thaw is brought on by the welcomed increase in temperatures. It gradually warms up, remaining cold till mid May, and nights stay cold throughout the season. The clouds quickly disappear and the sun is welcomed back for many hours each day.

In Tallinn the average high rises from 1°C in March, to 7°C in April and 15°C in May. The average low creeps from -6°C, to 0°C, to 5°C respectively. The sun comes bounding back in style, leaping to four hours per day in March, to six hours in April, making a veritable long-jump to nine hours per day in May.

Estonia’s suffered devastating environmental damage during the Soviet Era and is now working hard to mend the harm done. The Soviet Army, amongst its many crimes, dumped jet fuel and toxic chemicals on land and in the sea around Estonia; now, water sources are dangerously contaminated. Estonia continues to add to its own environmental problems, however, with its oil-shale power plants. Environmental issues are particularly poignant in regions like Estonia which are low-lying, dominated by water and have traditionally seen long, snowy winters despite relatively mild temperatures. Global warming is already affecting Estonia’s wildlife and could dramatically change the country’s landscape.

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