Europe’s Cold Spots This Week: The 10 Coldest Places in Europe

By Paul Harrison, Orbis Weather

Week covered: Monday, November 2 to Sunday, November 8, 2026.

The coldest reading in Europe last week was 5°F (−15.2°C) at Brunnenkogel, a GeoSphere Austria summit station in the Ötztal Alps. Meteociel’s station record lists it in the observing day ending 18:00 UTC on Monday, November 2. GeoSphere Austria’s 10-minute data show it was reached at 18:10–18:20 UTC on Sunday evening, as that observing day began.

Monday was the coldest day for most of the list: seven of the ten places logged their lowest reading in the Monday observing day. The cold was concentrated on high summits in Switzerland and Austria. Ny-Ålesund on Svalbard was the only place on the list below 8,000 ft (2,440 m).

The 10 coldest places

Every place on the list dropped to 14°F (−10.1°C) or lower. Readings are the lowest daily minimum at each site for the week; ties share a rank.

Just missing the list were Røros, Norway, at 15°F (−9.7°C) on Sunday; Krenkel on Heiss Island, Franz Josef Land, at 15°F (−9.2°C) on Wednesday; and Eggishorn, Switzerland, and Svalbard Airport, both at 16°F (−9.1°C) on Monday and Friday respectively.

Where the cold showed up

The week’s sharpest cold came at its start in the Alps and later in the Carpathians and the Arctic. Away from the summits, the coldest readings came from Svalbard, Franz Josef Land and inland Norway.

The Alps: Most summit stations were coldest on Monday, then rose through the week. Weissfluhjoch’s minimum climbed to 33°F (0.3°C) on Friday. Jungfraujoch, the highest station on the list, stayed between 16°F and 11°F (−8.9°C and −11.4°C) every night. Brunnenkogel cooled again to 9°F (−12.8°C) on Sunday. Among inhabited valleys, Obergurgl, Austria, fell to 18°F (−7.6°C) on Monday, per GeoSphere Austria. Davos reached 21°F (−6.2°C) and Segl-Maria 23°F (−5.1°C), both on Monday.

The Carpathians: The cold reached the eastern mountains later in the week. Vârful Omu fell from 28°F (−2.2°C) on Tuesday to its low on Saturday. Kasprowy Wierch, Poland, reached 19°F (−7.2°C) and Lomnický štít, Slovakia, 20°F (−6.7°C), both on Wednesday.

The Arctic and Scandinavia: Svalbard’s coldest day was Friday, at both Ny-Ålesund and Svalbard Airport. In northern Sweden, Esrange fell to 17°F (−8.6°C) on Monday; Karasjok in Norway reached 17°F (−8.3°C) the same day. Among the Finnish synoptic stations checked, Sodankylä was coldest at 21°F (−6.2°C) on Wednesday. SMHI said Wednesday brought weather that was “för årstiden mycket milt” (very mild for the season) in Norrland, with a high of 57°F (14.1°C) at Lungö.

European Russia: The coldest mainland reading was 16°F (−8.7°C) at Sterlitamak, Bashkortostan, on Tuesday. Its minimum rose to 39°F (3.7°C) by Thursday. Naryan-Mar on the Arctic coast reached 17°F (−8.3°C) on Sunday. In a review published Friday, the Hydrometcentre of Russia reported “очень сильный снег” (very heavy snow) in Tatarstan. In Belarus, the Baltics and Ukraine, no station checked fell below 27°F (−2.8°C).

About this list

The list ranks the lowest observed daily minimum temperatures at distinct places in Europe from November 2 to 8, 2026. Europe here means the continent west of the Ural Mountains and Ural River, plus Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya and Iceland. Readings come from national weather services: MeteoSwiss, GeoSphere Austria, Romania’s national meteorological administration, MET Norway, SMHI, the Finnish Meteorological Institute and Roshydromet. They were read from Meteociel’s monthly station summaries, Yr, SMHI open data, the GeoSphere Austria data hub and Pogoda i Klimat.

All figures are preliminary and can be revised. Each observing day runs from 18:00 to 18:00 UTC, so “Monday” begins at 7 p.m. Central European Time on Sunday; Brunnenkogel and Corvatsch reached their Monday lows on Sunday evening. Most MeteoSwiss summit stations have no minimum for Wednesday, and Corvatsch also lacks Saturday and Sunday. Several Norwegian mountain stations have gaps after November 3, no data were available for Iceland, and Grand St-Bernard and Kirov returned no data. Valluga, Austria, was not ranked because only partial data were available. No readings were removed in quality control.

Frequently asked questions

Why are mountain stations at the top? Temperature usually falls with height, and nine of the ten places sit above 8,000 ft (2,440 m). Few lowland or Arctic stations in this week’s data came close to the summit readings.

Was the north colder or milder than usual? Several sources described mildness. SMHI said Östersund-Frösön’s minimum of 46°F (7.6°C) on Wednesday made it “det ljummaste novemberdygn som observerats” (the mildest November day observed) there, in records back to 1874. Foreca said on Thursday that thermal winter had not started by the end of October even in northern Lapland.

Why do some Monday lows come from Sunday evening? The weather services’ observing day ends at 18:00 UTC, so Monday’s record starts at 7 p.m. Central European Time on Sunday. That is when Brunnenkogel and Corvatsch were coldest.

What should people expect this week? Foreca expects Finland’s weekly mean temperature to be “enimmäkseen tavanomainen” (mostly normal), with night frost possibly reaching the south late in the week and snow in the north. The Hydrometcentre of Russia expects temperatures in northern and northwestern European Russia to exceed the norm by 1 to 5 degrees Celsius on November 11 to 13. It forecast heavy wet snow in northern Komi.

Sources

• Meteociel monthly station summaries, November 2026 (retrieved Nov 10, 2026): Brunnenkogel, Corvatsch, Vârful Omu, Sonnblick, Jungfraujoch, Titlis, Gornergrat, Weissfluhjoch, Piz Martegnas, Eggishorn, Davos, Segl-Maria, Kasprowy Wierch, Lomnický štít, Røros, Sodankylä
• Meteociel hourly observations, Corvatsch, Nov 1 and Nov 2, 2026
• GeoSphere Austria data hub: daily minima, Nov 2–8, 2026 and 10-minute data, Nov 2, 2026
• Yr (MET Norway) station statistics, November 2026: Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Airport, Karasjok
• SMHI open data, daily minimum temperature: Esrange (retrieved Nov 10, 2026)
• Pogoda i Klimat monthly monitor, November 2026: Krenkel, Sterlitamak, Naryan-Mar, Vilnius
• SMHI blog: “Mycket mild novemberdag i Norrland” (Nov 5, 2026)
• Foreca: thermal winter and the warm autumn (Nov 5, 2026)
• Foreca: monthly forecast (Nov 8, 2026)
• Hydrometcentre of Russia: Central Russia, Volga region and Urals weather review (Nov 6, 2026)
• Hydrometcentre of Russia: Atlantic cyclones bring warmth and precipitation to northwestern European Russia (Nov 10, 2026)