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Does it rain a lot in Sweden?

How much precipitation falls, where and in which season.

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Short answer

Measured annual precipitation in Sweden is generally 500–800 mm, and the wettest inhabited areas in the south-west get 1,000–1,300 mm a year, according to SMHI. Stockholm's normal for 1991–2020 is 546 mm a year and Gothenburg's 912 mm.

Seasons and weather in Sweden Illustration of a season wheel with snow, a birch leaf, sun and rain around a red Swedish cottage

Why

  1. SMHI says measured annual precipitation is generally 500–800 mm, and that it falls all year but most heavily in summer and autumn.
  2. According to SMHI, the 1991–2020 annual mean is mostly 400–600 mm in the eastern parts of Götaland and Svealand, while mountain areas and western Götaland get more than 1,000 mm.
  3. SMHI's station table gives the normal for 1991–2020 as 546 mm in Stockholm, 658 mm in Malmö, 912 mm in Gothenburg and 602 mm at Luleå airport.

Details

SMHI says annual precipitation in Sweden has increased with each overlapping 30-year period from 1961 to 2020. The sources used here give no single national count of rainy days, but SMHI publishes the number of days with at least 0.1, 1, 5, 10, 20 and 40 mm per station for 1991–2020 as Excel files.

Tip

To see how many days a year a particular place gets precipitation, download SMHI's station files with normal values for 1991–2020.

What may differ

The amount depends on the region: some valleys in the far north of Lappland get about 400 mm, while the western mountains can get 1,500–2,000 mm, but there are no official stations there.

People also ask

  • How much does it rain in Sweden?
  • How many days a year does it rain in Sweden?

Sources

Information checked on 27 October 2026.

Seasons and weather in Sweden

  • What should I wear in Gothenburg?

    What to wear in Gothenburg depends on the month, because SMHI's normal mean temperature is about 1 °C in January and about 18 °C in July.

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  • What should I wear in Sweden in March?

    In March, wear a warm jacket and scarf, because SMHI's normal mean temperature is about 2 °C in Stockholm and about 3 °C in Gothenburg.

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  • What should I wear in Sweden in November?

    In November, wear a warm coat and scarf, because SMHI's normal mean temperature is about 4 °C in Stockholm and about 5 °C in Gothenburg.

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  • Is it always dark in Sweden in winter (polar night)?

    No, in Stockholm the sun is up from 8:47 am to 2:55 pm in January, and polar night, with no sunrise at all, only occurs in the far north.

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