As in other northern countries, seasons vary widely in Estonia. The length of the longest day in summer is over 19 hours, while the shortest winter day lasts only six hours. It is not completely dark at night from the beginning of May until the end of July. Estonia, on the coast of the Baltic Sea, is at the same latitude in Europe as central Sweden and the northern tip of Scotland. In North America, the middle latitude of Estonia passes through the Labrador peninsula and southern coast of Alaska. However, due to the influence of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Stream, the weather in Estonia is considerably milder than the continental climate characteristic of the same latitude. The temperature in the summer months (June–September) is typically 15…18ºC; in winter, –4…–5ºC. Estonian weather offers many surprises. Temperatures may fluctuate by 20º C; in the early morning the thermometer might read –12ºC and by afternoon it may already be 10ºC. Although it doesn't always snow in winter, there tends to be about 10 cm of snow on the ground consistently from late December through to the beginning of March. |
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