Is there always snow in Lapland at Christmas?

In FMI's records there has been. On 24 December every one of the seven stations we track had snow on the ground in every season measured (17 to 35 seasons). The median depth on Christmas Eve ranges from 27 to 44 cm.

When does the snow usually arrive in Lapland?

In late October. The date from which at least half of past seasons had snow on the ground is 29 October at Rovaniemi, 24 October at Levi, 24 October at Ylläs, 23 October at Pyhä-Luosto, 22 October at Ruka, 17 October at Saariselkä, 17 October at Kilpisjärvi. Early snow often melts again, so a white November is not guaranteed.

Are the ski slopes open if there is no snow?

Often, yes. FMI measures snow on open ground at weather stations. Ski resorts make and store snow, so slopes and some trails can be open while the nearest station reads zero. Check the resort's own slope status before you travel.

Snow report

Is There Snow in Lapland Right Now? Live Snow Depth by Resort

On 8 November, 3 of 7 FMI stations near Lapland's main resorts had snow on the ground. The deepest was Kilpisjärvi at 13 cm.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) measures snow depth once a day, and this page checks for new readings every three hours. “Normal” is the median depth on the same date over each station’s past seasons, and the last column shows how often there was any snow on the ground by that date.

Live snow depth

Snow on the ground, 8 November

Measured daily by the Finnish Meteorological Institute at the station nearest each resort. “Normal” is the median for this date over the station’s past seasons.

Destination	Snow now	7 days ago	Normal	Years with snow by now
RovaniemiRovaniemi airport, 8 km	No snow3 cm below normal	No snow	3 cm	57% of 28
LeviKittilä Pakatti, 15 km	No snow5 cm below normal	No snow	5 cm	81% of 16
YlläsKolari Kattilamaa, 25 km	No snow4 cm below normal	No snow	4 cm	90% of 29
Pyhä-LuostoPelkosenniemi village, 15 km	No snow7 November5 cm below normal	No snow	5 cm	76% of 29
RukaKuusamo Kiutaköngäs, 24 km	2 cmabout normal	No snow	4 cm	77% of 35
SaariselkäSaariselkä resort	3 cm8 cm below normal	No snow	11 cm	91% of 35
KilpisjärviKilpisjärvi village	13 cmabout normal	No snow	13 cm	97% of 35

Source: Finnish Meteorological Institute open data (CC BY 4.0). FMI measures snow depth once a day; we check for new readings every three hours. Stations measure open ground; ski slopes use machine-made snow and can be open when a station shows none.

Will it snow this week?

In the next 7 days, FMI forecasts snowfall at Ruka (4 days), Rovaniemi (3 days), Levi (3 days), Ylläs (3 days), Pyhä-Luosto (3 days), Saariselkä (2 days) and Kilpisjärvi (1 day).

FMI’s forecast for each destination, by day in Finnish time. Amounts are millimetres of water, and the type is the one FMI forecasts for most of that day’s precipitation. Under 0.3 mm counts as dry.

Destination	Mon 9	Tue 10	Wed 11	Thu 12	Fri 13	Sat 14	Sun 15
Rovaniemi	Dry0…6 °C	Dry-5…0 °C	Dry-7…-5 °C	Dry-5…-1 °C	Snow 8.9 mm-2…0 °C	Snow 2.4 mm-4…-1 °C	Snow 1.7 mm-7…-2 °C
Levi	Dry-1…6 °C	Dry-6…-1 °C	Dry-8…-5 °C	Dry-5…-4 °C	Snow 2.9 mm-5…-2 °C	Snow 1.5 mm-6…-2 °C	Snow 0.5 mm-8…-5 °C
Ylläs	Dry-1…4 °C	Dry-7…-2 °C	Dry-9…-6 °C	Dry-6…-3 °C	Snow 4.4 mm-6…-2 °C	Snow 1.7 mm-7…-2 °C	Snow 1.5 mm-8…-5 °C
Pyhä-Luosto	Dry0…4 °C	Dry-7…-1 °C	Dry-9…-7 °C	Dry-6…-2 °C	Snow 11.3 mm-3…-1 °C	Snow 4.5 mm-6…-2 °C	Snow 0.7 mm-8…-6 °C
Ruka	Dry0…3 °C	Snow 0.3 mm-4…1 °C	Dry-7…-4 °C	Dry-5…-1 °C	Snow 12.5 mm-2…0 °C	Snow 6.5 mm-4…-1 °C	Snow 2 mm-5…-2 °C
Saariselkä	Dry-1…4 °C	Dry-7…-1 °C	Dry-8…-4 °C	Dry-7…-4 °C	Snow 6.4 mm-5…-2 °C	Snow 8.9 mm-7…-3 °C	Dry-8…-5 °C
Kilpisjärvi	Snow 7.6 mm-4…3 °C	Dry-7…-4 °C	Dry-8…-5 °C	Dry-12…-7 °C	Dry-12…-6 °C	Dry-9…-7 °C	Dry-8…-5 °C

How much snow to expect on your dates

Median snow depth on each date, and the share of past seasons with at least 20 cm on the ground. Calculated from FMI’s daily station records.

Destination	15 November	1 December	15 December	24 December	15 January	15 February	15 March	15 April
Rovaniemi28 seasons, 1998–2026	7 cm14% had 20 cm+	17 cm50% had 20 cm+	26 cm64% had 20 cm+	32 cm75% had 20 cm+	44 cm100% had 20 cm+	65 cm100% had 20 cm+	75 cm100% had 20 cm+	63 cm96% had 20 cm+
Levi17 seasons, 2009–2026	14 cm40% had 20 cm+	19 cm47% had 20 cm+	37 cm94% had 20 cm+	39 cm100% had 20 cm+	54 cm100% had 20 cm+	67 cm100% had 20 cm+	77 cm100% had 20 cm+	66 cm100% had 20 cm+
Ylläs29 seasons, 1997–2026	11 cm34% had 20 cm+	22 cm52% had 20 cm+	33 cm83% had 20 cm+	37 cm97% had 20 cm+	52 cm100% had 20 cm+	69 cm100% had 20 cm+	74 cm100% had 20 cm+	61 cm100% had 20 cm+
Pyhä-Luosto29 seasons, 1997–2026	9 cm24% had 20 cm+	19 cm48% had 20 cm+	24 cm76% had 20 cm+	27 cm79% had 20 cm+	44 cm97% had 20 cm+	60 cm100% had 20 cm+	60 cm100% had 20 cm+	45 cm90% had 20 cm+
Ruka35 seasons, 1991–2026	10 cm21% had 20 cm+	19 cm49% had 20 cm+	26 cm74% had 20 cm+	32 cm86% had 20 cm+	44 cm100% had 20 cm+	58 cm100% had 20 cm+	66 cm100% had 20 cm+	57 cm97% had 20 cm+
Saariselkä35 seasons, 1991–2026	21 cm54% had 20 cm+	30 cm80% had 20 cm+	39 cm94% had 20 cm+	44 cm97% had 20 cm+	57 cm100% had 20 cm+	70 cm100% had 20 cm+	77 cm100% had 20 cm+	72 cm100% had 20 cm+
Kilpisjärvi35 seasons, 1991–2026	17 cm43% had 20 cm+	26 cm68% had 20 cm+	35 cm89% had 20 cm+	40 cm91% had 20 cm+	59 cm100% had 20 cm+	84 cm100% had 20 cm+	90 cm100% had 20 cm+	89 cm100% had 20 cm+

Planning around snow? Read Lapland in November for early-winter trips, the winter weather, snow and daylight guide for averages by month, what to do if there’s no snow, and the best time to visit Lapland.

See the snow on live webcams

A station reading is one point on open ground. The resort cameras show the slopes and villages themselves. Press play to load a stream; nothing loads from YouTube until you do.

Santa Claus Village

Rovaniemi and Santa Claus Village · Operator: City of Rovaniemi

Levi village view

Levi · Operator: Levi Ski Resort

Gondola lower station, south

Ylläs · Operator: Ylläs Ski Resort

Pyhä-Luosto aurora live

Pyhä-Luosto · Operator: Visit Pyhä-Luosto

More cameras, including Ruka, Lake Inari and aurora sky cameras, are on the Lapland webcams page.

More forecasts and slope status

Weather forecast: FMI’s local forecasts for Rovaniemi and Levi show the coming days’ temperature and precipitation. Search the same site for any other village.
Long-term statistics: FMI’s snow statistics page has official 1991–2020 normals.
Ski slopes: resorts publish their own open slopes and trails, which can be open on machine-made snow before natural snow arrives. Check the resort site before booking ski days.

Lapland snow questions

Is there snow in Lapland right now?: On 8 November, 3 of 7 FMI stations near Lapland's main resorts had snow on the ground. The deepest was Kilpisjärvi at 13 cm.
Will it snow in Lapland this week?: In the next 7 days, FMI forecasts snowfall at Ruka (4 days), Rovaniemi (3 days), Levi (3 days), Ylläs (3 days), Pyhä-Luosto (3 days), Saariselkä (2 days) and Kilpisjärvi (1 day).
Is there always snow in Lapland at Christmas?: In FMI's records there has been. On 24 December every one of the seven stations we track had snow on the ground in every season measured (17 to 35 seasons). The median depth on Christmas Eve ranges from 27 to 44 cm.
When does the snow usually arrive in Lapland?: In late October. The date from which at least half of past seasons had snow on the ground is 29 October at Rovaniemi, 24 October at Levi, 24 October at Ylläs, 23 October at Pyhä-Luosto, 22 October at Ruka, 17 October at Saariselkä, 17 October at Kilpisjärvi. Early snow often melts again, so a white November is not guaranteed.
Are the ski slopes open if there is no snow?: Often, yes. FMI measures snow on open ground at weather stations. Ski resorts make and store snow, so slopes and some trails can be open while the nearest station reads zero. Check the resort's own slope status before you travel.

Data: Finnish Meteorological Institute open data, licensed CC BY 4.0. Live readings are daily station observations and can be corrected later by FMI. Normals are our calculation from FMI’s daily records for each station, not FMI’s official 1991–2020 statistics.