The first thing that most people mention about the climate of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is that the winters are really quite cold. This is undeniably true, although it never gets anywhere near as chilly as much of neighbouring Russia. The temperature in many parts of the region rarely gets above freezing between December and February, and can even drop to -20 C on very rare occasions, but that still hardly compares with the icy extremes of Siberia. In fact, the weather this year has so far been uncommonly mild.
One factor regulating the climate is the Baltic Sea, which means that coastal areas are usually a few degrees warmer than further inland in the winter. The flip side is that the coast is slightly cooler in the summer.
Subzero temperatures are often accompanied by biting winds. There is also snow cover throughout the winter, sometimes starting as early as mid-November, which can make driving hard work – only the largest roads are gritted – and pavements treacherous. Last winter I spent several weeks in Latvia and had a couple of nasty slips which left various body parts aching. Perhaps more worrying was finding my hire car sliding into a ditch on more than one occasion. I have been searching for the photographic evidence but can’t locate it – if I do I’ll post it later (and it will be the first photo I have posted except for the blog header!).
The other downside is that the days are very short in winter. Some days it hardly seems to get properly light at all, which can make sightseeing less pleasant than in summer. It also means that, as everywhere, people can be less outgoing than they are in warmer months.
It isn’t all gloomy though. Some days bring wonderfully clear skies and crisply invigorating weather. There are also winter sports to draw visitors: downhill skiing is surprisingly popular given the lack of any serious slopes, for example. A more unusual draw is the international standard bobsleigh track in Sigulda, where in winter the Latvian national team will take visitors for a hair-raising ride lasting around a minute.
Another of the joys of the Baltic winter is seeing the snow-covered landscape and frozen lakes. Ice fishing is a common pastime throughout the region, with locals cutting holes in the ice and sitting in wait for hours at a time. It is not generally recommended that tourists join them, as every year a handful of local people die after falling through the ice, but there is something satisfying about spotting the hardy souls sitting out there.
The other thing to bear in mind is that many people visit the Baltics for city breaks, and if you are spending most of your time in museums or pubs then the weather is not of the utmost importance. In fact it can be positively cosy to be indoors. I met quite a few tourists in Riga last winter, including a couple wandering the Ethnographic Museum as it snowed, and none of them had regretted making the trip.
So the answer, unsurprisingly, is that the Baltics can be fun at any time of the year. Just make sure you take along appropriate clothing, bear in mind that getting from place to place may take longer, and prepare to steel yourself against those icy winds once in a while. If you require any further meteorological information, try the meteorological institutes in each country: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Finally, while I’m on the subject of climate I’d like to recommend a book called Weather to Travel
8 responses so far ↓
1 Aleks // Dec 11, 2007 at 8:37 pm
It seems this year the winter has been canceled. This afternoon was unseasonably warm with no wind, no snow, and light drizzle. If it continues like that, we’ll be definitely dreaming of a white Christmas.
2 Debo Hobo // Dec 11, 2007 at 8:48 pm
-20 BURR!!!!!!
3 John // Dec 12, 2007 at 6:27 pm
Aleks: Thanks for dropping by. I haven’t been to the region yet this winter, but I had of course heard that it has been mild so far. If I remember correctly, the snow came late last year too.
I think on reflection that my post should have reflected this year’s weather. I have been thinking that I should write more ‘perennial’ content rather than time-sensitive stuff, but then people will also want to know about current conditions. I think I’ll go back and add a note onto the article for people who don’t read the comments.
Debo Hobo: Yep, that’s pretty cold but it rarely gets that severe. In Tallinn, for example, the average daily minimum temperature in January is -8.4 C while the average maximum is -2.8 C.
I had thought about posting lots of figures here, but thought it would be more useful to link to some official sources. Another statistic for you though: an average day in January in Tallinn sees 0.8 hours of sunshine.
4 Aleks // Dec 13, 2007 at 9:18 am
Yes, little sunshine and cold weather - that’s the Baltic winter for you. But it’s not as bad as Nordic winter though. As I mentioned at the moment it’s neither here nor there really. Some kind of transitional weather season when it’s not real winter, but it’s not fall/autumn any more.
Regardless of cold winter though, there are tons of stuff to do here - from country skiing to bobsleigh, from theater to museums.
Incidentally, John’s readers from North America might be interested in getting a real good winter deal on plane tickets to the Baltics from SAS. The airline has been offering good winter deals for the last five years as far as I know.
5 Shawna // Dec 14, 2007 at 7:16 pm
With those type of temperatures, thats definitely a place I would not enjoy visiting.
6 Lithuanian Jotter // Jan 9, 2008 at 11:59 pm
John, you got it absolutely right saying that Lithuania in winter is fine if your visit is a city break. There are several seasons when Vilnius looks stunning and really fun to explore / take pictures of.
Firstly, it’s the autumn - bright yellow, orange, red leaves are decorating the city’s landscape, while sunsets and sunrises above the old city look simply stunning. We don’t get those sort of autumn colours here in the UK.
The other great season is the above mentioned winter. Should you get cold, try numerous cafeterias, sweet and hand made chocolate shops, which normally sell hot drinks, etc.
The only problem might be transport, as roads do get blocked by snow. But like John said - if it’s a Friday-Sunday kind of trip, you shouldn’t freeze your bum off!
7 g00db0y // Feb 17, 2008 at 10:24 am
Very impressive and interesting topic. At least it’s really broaden my knowledge about baltic because I, myself live in Sydney, Australia and over here, we don’t really have a genuine winter (no snows at all).
8 John // Feb 21, 2008 at 11:08 am
Hi goodboy, apologies for taking a few days to reply but I’ve been neglecting my blog lately – I have relocated overseas (from London) and am still getting things organised.
I’m glad you enjoyed the article and hope that it encourages you to visit the Baltics one day. I have to say, though, that many people would envy you for your snow-free winter…
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