Weather Talinn
The medieval city of Tallinn, Estonia, can be found banking 44 meters above the Eastern region of the Baltic Sea, squeezed between Scandinavia and Russia, just across a sea arm from Helsinki, Finland. As you've probably already imagined, given the city's location, its cold. Quite cold, in fact. Even when it's not supposed to be, it can still be a bit nippy, but not as cold as some places. So if you just want to get away from the sticky hot weather or you're into winter hiking or if you've always wanted to see a real medieval city, the capital of Estonia is a wonderful place to try.
Named Europe's capital of culture 2011 along with Turku in Finland, Tallinn has a population of approximately 440,000, more than half of which are Estonian and the rest are a mixture of Russian and Ukrainian. It's a thriving city, so don't expect a quiet getaway, more of a surprisingly active escape.
Although it may be a former Soviet Union city, Tallinn has nothing like the dullness and grayness that is often associated with the Eastern Bloc. To the contrary, it is a vibrant, colorful, historic and charming city. The historic Old Town of Tallinn is of such magnificent beauty and historical significance that it was declared World Heritage by UNESCO. This is a city of boutique hotels, striking churches, medieval city walls, baroque palaces, skyscrapers and shopping malls. It's definitely a fascinating historic city. To top it off, Tallinn is also home to a few beaches!
Tallinn's climate is classified as humid continental, which means that you can expect mild to warm summers and snowy and cold winters. The city's coastal location, however, does keep the freezing winter temperatures at a bearable level. February is the coldest month of the year with an average temperature of -5°C. Summers are comfortably warm and even allow for swimming.
You can check out a detailed weather forecast for Tallinn on this page.
Spring
The spring season lasts from April through June and is characterised by swiftly increasing temperatures. The average temperature rises from 6°C in April to 15°C in June in the course of the season. The sea temperature also rises greatly, from a near freezing 2°C to 14°C. Precipitation is relatively constant all-year round, but spring happens to be the driest season overall. With a total amount of rainfall of 13mm, April is the driest month of the year. Cloud cover tends to decrease throughout the season, opening up the skies for much more sunshine toward the summer season.
Summer
Summer kicks off in Tallinn around the last week of June and doesn't really hit full-tilt until July. July and August are the peak summer months with respective average temperatures of 18°C and 17°C. July is the warmest month of the year with afternoon high temperatures up to 24°C and nighttime lows around 12°C. The sea temperature averages 19°C in both July and August, which might be warm enough for swimming on one of Tallinn's beaches during a warm afternoon.
The summers in Tallinn are sunny enough for shorts and a T-shirt, but one drawback of the summer is that it also brings bucketfuls of rain. Clocking an impressive 54mm in July and 44mm August, it's advised that you take an umbrella and keep an eye on the forecast. This rainfall dissipates in the colder seasons, but comes out of nowhere in July. Summer is both the warmest and the wettest season in Tallinn.
During the middle of the year, you can expect a generously high humidity level that starts at 85% in June and crests in autumn at 93%. During the summer, these averages tend to dwindle after dinnertime and by the time the evening arrives, you'll be glad to know the humidity dissipates with it, dropping by an average 35% in the evening.
There is known to be the occasional bout of fog in the summer in Tallinn. No worries, though, as it helps add to the medieval aesthetic of the city. It gives the city that "Gondor" look, but you can mostly expect sunny skies overhead which is great for the many outdoor activities available in Tallinn such as cycling, ATV riding, hiking and hot air ballooning.
Autumn
Autumn begins in September and runs through November. As quickly as the temperatures rose in spring, they drop as rapidly in autumn. While September enjoys an average temperature of 12°C, November has an average temperature of no higher than 1°C. November is also the first month that experiences nighttime frost. Snowfall is possible as early as October, but doesn't become regular until the end of November, when the chance of snowfall rises above 40%. Precipitation is relatively high in autumn, November being the wettest month of the whole year with its 55mm of rainfall, which is slightly more than the July total.
Winter
As expected, winter comes early in Estonia. Hot on the heels of summer, the cold season arrives quickly at the end of November with its snow in tow and temperatures that range from lows of -9°C to -4° throughout the season. Average highs range from -2°C in February to 3°C in March, which marks the coming of spring. You'll probably be able to pick up an Ushanka there, but best to take a hat and gloves.
A saving grace of Tallinn's winter is that rainfall is considerably less that the summer. Generally speaking, rainfall drops throughout winter. December receives 33mm of precipitation, which is about the monthly average for the time of year. Of course, at this time of year, the temperature has dropped below zero and the water becomes what the Estonians like to call lumi... which means snow.
Humidity in Tallinn's winter has so little range, it's barely recognisable. Its highpoints are in the upper 80 and 90%'s and drops as much as 8% on a good day by the evening. Again, Tallinn is subject to heavy fog, but as with the summer, it adds to the atmosphere. If it's a foggy day, it would be unwise to go skiing or ATV riding. You may have trouble seeing where you're going.
The sheer amount of snow and the range of the landscape are great for the Tallinn's ski club, the kayaking groups. It also makes a scenic view for those of you who prefer to stay in and keep warm. If you do like the snow, fog and ice and you fancied a bit of winter hiking (unfortunately Suur Munamägi is on the opposite side of the country, bordering Latvia) or if you just fancied getting away from the sleet and pseudo-winters of England and wanted to see how it's supposed to be done, Tallinn will school you. December is also a fantastic time of year to visit Tallinn for its magical and atmospheric Christmas markets.