Tallinn, Estonia

It is May 4, 2018 and we are at the port in Tallinn, Estonia. Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, 50 miles south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm, north of Riga and west of Saint Petersburg in Harju County. Tallinn occupies an area of 61.5 square miles and has a population of 449,160. Due to its strategic location, the city became a major trade hub, especially from the 14th to the 16th century. Tallinn's Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The figure of a warrior called Old Thomas, was put on top of the spire of the Tallinn Town Hall
in 1530 that became the symbol for the city.

Kadrioru Kunsti Museum

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Pictures Around Tallinn, Estonia


Climate Information

Tallinn has a humid continental climate with warm, mild summers and cold, snowy winters. Winters are cold but mild for its latitude, owing to its coastal location. The average temperature in February, the coldest month, is 24.3o F. During the winter months, temperatures tend to hover close to the freezing mark but mild spells of weather can push temperatures above 32o F, occasionally reaching above 41o F while cold air masses can push temperatures below 0o F an average of 6 days a year. Snowfall is common during the winter months. Winters are cloudy and are characterized by low amounts of sunshine, ranging from only 0.5 hours of sunshine per day in December to 4.1 hours in March. At the winter solstice daylight lasts for only 6 hours.

Spring starts out cool, with freezing temperatures common in March and April but gradually becomes warmer in late May when daytime temperatures average 59.4o F although nighttime temperatures still remain cool, averaging 30.2 to 41.4o F from March to May. Snowfall is common in March and can occur in April.

Summers are mild with daytime temperatures hovering around 66 to 70o F and nighttime temperatures averaging between 49.3 to 54.9o F from June to August. The warmest month is usually July, with an average of 63.0o F. Periods of hot weather are rare during the summer months, with only 31 days per year where the temperature reaches or exceeds 69.8o F. During summer, partly cloudy or clear days are common and it is the sunniest season, ranging from 7.4 hours of sunshine in August to 10.1 hours in June although precipitation is higher during these months. As a consequence of its high latitude, at the summer solstice, daylight lasts for more than 18 hours and 30 minutes.

Fall starts out mild, with a September average of 52.3o F and increasingly becomes cooler and cloudier towards the end of November. In the early parts of fall, temperatures commonly reach 59o F on some days and at least one day above 70o F in September. In the latter months of fall, freezing temperatures become more common and snowfall can occur.

Tallinn receives 24.3 inches of precipitation annually which is evenly distributed throughout the year although March and April are the driest months, averaging about 1.2 inches while July and August are the wettest months with 2.9 inches of precipitation. The average humidity is 81%, ranging from a high of 88% to a low of 69% in May. Tallinn has an average windspeed of 7.5 miles per hour with winters being the windiest (around 8.9 miles per hour in January) and summers being the least windy at around 6.48 miles per hour in July and August. Extremes range from -24.0o F in January 1940 to 93.7o F in July 1994.