Weather in the Oulu Area
Finland is located in the zone of the prevailing westerly winds where tropical and polar air masses meet. Therefore weather types can change rapidly and the variations in the weather conditions from one year to another can be vast.
You should keep in mind that we have a cold winter in Finland. To give you some idea of what is waiting for you, a table of average weather conditions in Oulu is provided below.
| Monthly mean temperatures* (oC) | Monthly precipitation* (mm) | Depth of snow** (cm) | Daylight time*** (hh:mm) | |
| January | -9.7 | 30 | 30 | 05:39 |
| February | -9.5 | 23 | 43 | 09:09 |
| March | -4.7 | 24 | 45 | 12:19 |
| April | +0.8 | 20 | 19 | 15:51 |
| May | +7.5 | 30 | 19:22 | |
| June | +13.6 | 45 | 21:57 | |
| July | +16.2 | 60 | 19:34 | |
| August | +13.7 | 66 | 15:58 | |
| September | +8.4 | 42 | 12:28 | |
| October | +2.7 | 41 | 09:08 | |
| November | -3.2 | 36 | 5 | 05:40 |
| December | -7.5 | 30 | 16 | 03:38 |
*) The average of the reference period 1971 – 2000
**) The average depth of snow on the 15th of the respective month in the reference period 1971 – 2000
***) The length of the daylight on the 21st of the respective month. The time is measured from the sunrise to the sunset. The actual daylight time is longer than indicated in this chart because the rays of light are reflected also from behind of the horizon.
NOTICE!
It may be as cold as -25 °C for several weeks in the middle of the winter. If there is a brisk wind the weather will feel much colder than what the thermometer shows.
The coldness record for Oulu is -41.5°C (3.2.1966) and the heat record is +32.8°C (20.7.1970).
For more information on the weather and climate in Finland, please see the website of the Finnish Meteorological Institute at www.fmi.fi Information on how the wind effects the perception of coldness is available in Finnish at en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi.