Guide · Best month

Temperature in Levi, Lapland, and when to ride the trails

Cold, snow and light decide how a snowmobile day feels. Here is the temperature in Levi, Lapland, month by month from the Kittilä station, with the snow and the daylight that shape the trail season.

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Editorial team, snowmobile-levi.comUpdated October 22, 2026about 6 min to read21 sources

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The season in brief

01Coldest month: January, with an average daily low of -17 °C.¹
02Snow cover: Most of Lapland is under snow from December to April.²
03Polar night: From December into early January in Levi.³
04Easiest month to ride: March: 11.5 hrs of sun at mid-month, low of -12.3 °C.¹
05Deepest snow: In northern Finland the snow is usually thickest in April.⁴

How cold it gets, month by month

For the temperature in Levi, Lapland, this site uses the Kittilä airport weather station, south of the resort, and our averages of its NOAA records for 1991 to 2020 tell a clear story.¹ January is the coldest month: days average -8.3 °C at their warmest and nights -17 °C at their coldest.¹ February is barely milder, at -7.4 °C and -16.4 °C.¹

The thaw comes late. March still averages a low of -12.3 °C, April climbs to a high of 4.1 °C, and only in May does the average low creep above freezing, to 1.3 °C.¹ On the other side of winter, the average high is -2.8 °C in November and -5.6 °C in December.¹

Averages hide the extremes. Biting frost belongs to January and February in Visit Levi's calendar, with an Arctic wind that makes minus 30 feel harsher still.⁵ The Finnish frost record belongs to Pokka, a village of the same municipality, at -51.5°C in 1999.⁶ Plan your clothing for the cold snap, not for the average.

Levi's snow year

From first snow to the last trail

October

First snow

Usually mid to late October.⁷
Late October

Snow settles

In the north it usually stays until spring.⁸
December

Polar night

No sun at mid-month at Kittilä.¹
January

Coldest month

Average daily low of -17 °C.¹
April

Deepest snow

Snow cover is usually thickest in northern Finland.⁴

Is there snow in Lapland all winter?

Is there snow in Lapland when you want to ride? Almost certainly, between December and April. Visit Finland says most of Lapland is covered in snow in those months, with at least 25-50 cm on the ground across the region.² Visit Levi gives Levi itself an average snow depth of 75 cm.⁹

The first snow comes early. Visit Levi expects it during October's second or third week as a rule, and Visit Finland notes that in the north the snow usually stays on the ground by late October and lasts until spring.⁷ ⁸ The snow cover is typically thickest in April in northern Finland, which surprises people who think of winter as a December thing.⁴

Snow on the ground is not the same as an open trail, though. The Municipality of Kittilä opens a route only once its first grooming is done, and marks ice routes only when the ice is about 20 cm thick.¹⁰ ¹¹ Routes over lakes and rivers therefore tend to open later than those through the forest.

The year at Kittilä

Darkness and wet days through the year

Hours without sunDays with precipitationSeason

Month by month: hours of darkness at mid-month (our own calculation for Levi) and days with at least 2.5 mm of rain or snowfall at NOAA's Kittilä's airport and village stations, 1991 to 2020.¹

Month by month

Kittilä station: temperature, daylight and wet days

Month	Daylight (h)	Darkness (h)	High / low	Wet days	Trail season
Jan	3.2	20.8	-8 / -17 °C	5	deep frost
Feb	7.8	16.2	-7 / -16 °C	5	brighter days
Mar	11.5	12.5	-2 / -12 °C	4	spring crust
Apr	15.6	8.4	4 / -5 °C	4	deepest snow
May	20	4	11 / 1 °C	6
Jun	24	0	16 / 7 °C	7
Jul	24	0	20 / 10 °C	9
Aug	17.6	6.4	17 / 8 °C	7
Sep	13.4	10.6	11 / 4 °C	7
Oct	9.6	14.4	3 / -3 °C	6	first snow
Nov	5.3	18.7	-3 / -9 °C	7	snow settles
Dec	0	24	-6 / -14 °C	7	polar night

Daylight at mid-month, the average daily high and low, and days passing 2.5 mm of rain or snow, from NOAA's Kittilä records, 1991 to 2020.¹ Season according to Visit Finland, with month labels from Visit Levi.²

Three winter moods

December, February or March on the trail

Darkest

December

Polar night

Sun at mid-month: 0 hrs
Average low: -14 °C
Best for: Night rides

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Coldest light

February

Deep frost

Sun at mid-month: 7.8 hrs
Average low: -16.4 °C
Best for: Crisp clear days

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Most light

March

Spring crust

Sun at mid-month: 11.5 hrs
Average low: -12.3 °C
Best for: Long day rides

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Decision helper

Which month should you ride?

Choose by what matters most

December or January

The polar night runs from December into early January.³

February or March

FMI's best aurora months include February and March.¹²

April

Northern Finland's snow is usually thickest in April.⁴

April

April averages a high of 4.1 °C at Kittilä.¹

March or April

Visit Levi's spring crust months.¹³

Most of Lapland is covered in snow in the winter months between December and April. You can expect at least 25-50 centimetres on the ground across the region.

Visit FinlandSource 2

Daylight and the polar night

Light changes faster here than anywhere most visitors live. In mid-December the sun stays below the horizon at Kittilä; by mid-January it manages 3.2 hrs, by mid-February 7.8 hrs and by mid-March 11.5 hrs.¹ Visit Levi places the polar night from December into early January.³

So is Lapland always dark in winter? No. The polar night is a few weeks around the solstice, and the days grow longer after it, as Visit Levi puts it.³ By April the sun is up for 15.6 hrs at mid-month, and in June it does not set at all.¹ The dark season is real, but it is short.

For snowmobile riders the light decides the mood of the trip. A December ride runs in blue twilight under a pink horizon, beautiful but brief. A March ride runs in full sun on white snow, when sunglasses or goggles matter as much as mittens. Book the light you want to see, then pick the ride.

Checklist

Packing by month

December to February

Wool base layer and a warm mid-layer
Spare mittens and two pairs of socks
A head torch for the dark afternoons

March and April

Sunglasses or goggles for the bright snow
Sunscreen for the face
One layer fewer than in January

Cost calculator

Price a winter ride for your dates

Choose a ride and the number of people.

Forest safariDaytime, two hoursfrom $146 Northern lights tripAfter darkfrom $165 Café loopThree hoursfrom $200

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Video

Levi ski resort in winter, with the northern lights

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The snowmobile trail season

The guided snowmobile season in Levi runs through the snowy months. Visit Finland gives Levi's ski season as mid-November to mid-May, and Lapland's reliable snow cover as December to April; the trails follow that rhythm once they are groomed.¹⁴ ² This site uses December to April as the trail season in its charts.

Within that window each month has its character. December brings the polar night and the shortest rides by daylight. January and February bring the deepest frost and the clearest cold air. March and April bring spring crust, the hard snow that forms when sun-warmed snow freezes overnight, and Visit Levi names those months for it.¹³

Operators have their own weather rules. One ride is rescheduled or fully refunded at -30°C or colder; another is subject to snow conditions and offers a new date or a refund if cancelled for weather. The most booked northern lights trip, by contrast, does not cancel for weather at all. Read the weather line before you book in the coldest weeks.

Snow, rain and dry days

Winter in Levi is not especially wet. The Kittilä averages show about 34 mm of precipitation in January and 28 mm in March, with only 4 or 5 days a month reaching 2.5 mm.¹ Most winter days bring little or no precipitation, and are cold and either grey or brilliantly clear.

Summer is the wet season. July brings 82 mm of rain and 9 days above 2.5 mm, the most of any month.¹ That is irrelevant to snowmobiles, but useful if you are deciding between a winter and a summer trip to Lapland.

Fresh snow does change a ride. After a heavy fall the groomers need time, and Kittilä notes that routes are groomed as well as the winter weather allows.¹⁵ On those days the guide may choose a different loop or ride slower. A snowfall day is also the quietest, softest day you will spend on a snowmobile.

The northern lights season

Cold and darkness bring one reward. Visit Finland puts Finland's aurora season from late August to early April, and the Finnish Meteorological Institute names February-March and September-October as the best months, with 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. as the best hours.¹⁶ ¹² In summer the nights are too light to see the aurora at all.¹⁷

Levi's own figures give an annual average of 111 aurora sightings.¹⁸ For snowmobilers that points to February and March: the frost is easing, the daylight is long enough for a day ride, and the evenings still fall dark enough for an aurora ride.

Remember that clouds decide more than the calendar. Visit Finland names clouds as the usual reason a night passes without lights.¹⁹ Keep a free evening or two in your plan, so one cloudy night does not end your chances.

Dressing for the month you choose

Visit Finland puts the average winter temperature across Finnish Lapland at -14 °C, with occasional dips to -30 °C.²⁰ On a snowmobile the wind of the ride adds to that, which is why the operators lend overalls: this site's safari includes winter clothing in the price.

Under the overalls the rule is layers. Wool next to the skin, a fleece or wool sweater over it, and nothing tight. Visit Finland recommends coats that are windproof and waterproof, and the overalls do that job on the snowmobile.²¹ Add a neck tube, a thin hat that fits under the helmet and two pairs of socks in roomy boots.

In March and April swap one warm layer for sunglasses and sunscreen. The low sun on white snow is bright, and the face is the only part of you exposed to it. In December and January keep spare mittens in a pocket; damp gloves at -17 °C are the fastest way to end a good ride early.¹

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