Sweden Weather in January 2025: Travel Tips for First-Timers

Sweden is cold or frigid, snowy, and dark throughout Sweden. January's highlights include auroras, winter sports, sledding, and skiing. Urban tourism is low, and ski resorts are in peak season.

Read on for our weather information and travel advice including average temperatures and rain/snowfall, places to go, and travel tips…

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• 1. Weather Overview
• 2. Best Places to Visit
• 3. Crowds and Costs
• 4. What to Wear

Sweden Weather in January: Overview

Averages: 

• Temperature range: -6–-1°C (21–31°F)
• Total rain/snow: 5 cm (2 inches)
• Days with rain/snow: 9
• Humidity: 82%
• Sunshine hours/day: 1 hour

January Climate Comparison (Averages) for Sweden's Top Tourism Areas

In January, Sweden generally freezes except along the coast. There is low to moderate precipitation. The far south gets about 7 or more hours of daylight on average that enables daily excursions and sightseeing.

Southern Sweden: Stockholm, Gothenburg, Gotland Island and the southern coast are at 59° degrees latitude and southward. There is an average of 7 or more hours of daylight. At low elevations, the average high is about 2°C (36°F). The average humidity is about 81%. The average nightly low is -2°C (28°F).

Northern Sweden: Kiruna is at latitude 68° and gets zero to 3½ hours of daylight in January. It is also much colder in the north with temperatures continuously well below freezing. Though it is drier, the snow is preserved and accumulates in the frigid winter.

The Best Places to Visit in Sweden in January

Touring Sweden in January features vast forested snowscapes, auroras, long indigo and pinkish twilights, ski resorts, winter sports, and urban touring. It might feel gloomy though. You can do countryside and wilderness excursions as weather permits.

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1. Stockholm — Visit the Highlights and Do Winter Sports

Stockholm is the capital and biggest city and has an average daily high of 1°C (34°F) in January. There are 7 hours of daylight and 1 hour of sunshine on average daily. The average low is -3°C (27°F). You could tour the city and snowshoe hike and ski.

Swedes like to get out in the snow in the winters. Stockholm has a ski slope with lifts you can see in the city. Family-friendly ski resorts are close enough for a day excursion. The total snowfall is low and falls about 6 days each January.

Stockholm is unusually humid with 82% average humidity. There is a lot of frost. The Vasa Museum features a complete ship from the 1600s and is a favorite highlight. You could sightsee the Old Town, ski cross-country at Nacka Reserve, and see the auroras on clear nights outside the city.

2. Åre and Duved— Enjoy Skiing at the Ski Resorts

Åre is the best ski resort area in Sweden. It is a 6- or 7-hour trip from Stockholm by passenger train. Duved is a resort town a few minutes away from Åre by train or road. You could do downhill skiing or winter sports on world-class slopes.

The ski slopes in the Duved and ​Tegefjäll region are better for beginners and children. The crowds and prices are less at Duved than at Åre, and you could stay there.

In the Åre and Duved region, prices and crowds are relatively less after Epiphany (see about holidays below), so it is a good time to visit for more solitude and relaxed skiing, recreation, and relaxation. Snowfall is moderate. In Duved, the average high is -2°C (28°F). The low is -8°C (18°F).

3. Gotland (Visby) — Enjoy Nature, Historic Places, and Auroras

Visby is a tourist town on Gotland Island off the eastern coast of Sweden south of Stockholm. Along with old architecture, the island has forest preserves, hiking paths, sea views and archeological sites. You can also see beautiful auroras and twilight colors due to its isolation.

Gotland is a big island with a population of about 60,000. There is much farmland for good local produce to enjoy. Gotland is warmer than most of Sweden. The average daily high is 2°C (36°F) and the average low is -2°C (28°F). The rain-and-snowfall is low.

Gotland used to be a Viking base, so you can visit the Viking sites and museums. Visby is an interesting and historical walled town featuring Visborg Castle. You could see its cultural highlights and hike in nearby Hursrygg Nature Reserve. Taking a ferry from Stockholm takes 16 hours.

4. Kiruna — Enjoy Lapland Activities and Culture, the Auroras, Sledding, and Winters Sports

The Arctic Circle is the best place to see the auroras and experience the indigo/violet/pink skies. Kiruna is Sweden's northernmost largish town (population 25,000). It averages 3½ hours of daylight daily in January, with 24 hours of night on January 1, so early January is the best time to see the auroras. For darker skies, you could go further north to Tromsø (see Norway in January).

However, if you want a mix of activities including watching auroras and seeing the arctic beauty and skiing, you could go at the end of the month and enjoy 5 or hours of daylight as well as about 5 hours of eerie twilight.

Kiruna is one of Sweden's best ski resort areas, with a ski slope in town for some easy skiing. Riksgränsen in the Kiruna region is famed for its heavy snowfall and long ski season and for many ski slopes, good facilities, and entertainment.

The Kiruna Snow Festival is a highlight of January. The average high is -8°C (-17°F) and the nightly lows are around -17°C (1°F), so ice and snow sculptures are preserved well.

Moderate Tourism Season: Touring Advice for January

Sweden's cities and towns generally have moderate to low tourism in January after the holiday season crowds leave in early January. The ski resort areas are in a busy ski season until the end of the first week of January when Epiphany is celebrated.

Then, in the middle and end of January, the tourist crowds moderate on Sweden's ski slopes. The peak of Swedish ski season is February. If you want good skiing with relatively moderate crowds and prices, it is best to go to the ski resorts in middle and late January.

The last half of January is better for lower prices and smaller crowds. The lower prices and greater choice of accommodations at the middle and end of January might allow you to spend more time sky watching, relaxing, and experiencing the great outdoors.

Public Holidays in January:

• New Year's Day is January 1 annually. It is a day off for most Swedes, and schools and businesses close.
• Twelfth Night is January 5 annually. During this time, many businesses close for half a day. 
• Epiphany is January 6 annually. It is a day off for most of the population, and schools and most businesses close. Epiphany is for celebrating the coming of the Magi from the East to Jesus when he was a child and for celebrating the baptism of Jesus.

What to Wear in January

In January, in southern Sweden, there is both snow and rain. There is moderate rainfall/snowfall falling on an average of 12 days every January in Gothenburg, the wettest area. In other areas the precipitation is low.

Most of the tourist highlights and the mountains have unpredictable weather. You could be the most comfortable by dressing in layers and wearing a waterproof coat or bringing raingear wherever you go in Sweden.

Here is a packing list for a few essentials in Sweden:

• Warm waterproof boots with good traction for the outdoors. You might wear them in-flight to travel lightly.
• Comfortable shoes with good traction
• Coat and warm hat
• Rain gear
• Swimwear for hot springs and spas
• Cardigans or thermals
• Polarized glasses