Climate of Norway
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The climate of Norway is more temperate than expected for high latitudes. This is mainly due to the North Atlantic Current with its extension, the Norwegian Current, raising the air temperature;[1] the prevailing southwesterlies bringing mild air onshore; and the general southwest–northeast orientation of the coast, which allows the westerlies to penetrate into the Arctic. The January average in Brønnøysund[2] is Script error: No such module "convert". higher than the January average in Nome, Alaska,[3] even though both towns are situated on the west coast of the continents at 65°N. In July the difference is reduced to Script error: No such module "convert".. The January average of Yakutsk, in Siberia but slightly further south, is Script error: No such module "convert". lower than in Brønnøysund.[4]
Precipitation
Norway is among Europe's wettest countries, but with large variation in precipitation amount due to the terrain with mountain chains resulting in orographic precipitation but also creating rain shadows. In some regions, locations with vastly different precipitation amounts can be fairly close. Stryn Municipality (1661 mm) get 6 times as much precipitation as Skjåk 90 minutes drive away, Bergen has five times as much precipitation as Lærdal Municipality in the same region, and in the north Glomfjord (2141 mm) get 10 times as much precipitation as upper Saltdal (81 m) which is 68 km away as the crow flies. Some areas of Vestlandet and southern Nordland are among Europe's wettest, due to orographic lift, particularly where the westerlies are first intercepted by high mountains. This occurs slightly inland from the outer skerry guard. In the updated 1991-2020 normals, Gullfjellet in Bergen (345 m) has the highest annual precipitation with Script error: No such module "convert".. Annual precipitation can exceed Script error: No such module "convert". in mountain areas near the coast. Lurøy Municipality at the Arctic Circle gets Script error: No such module "convert". annually, a remarkable amount for a polar location. Precipitation is heaviest in late autumn and winter along the coast, while April to June is the driest. The innermost parts of the long fjords are somewhat drier: annual precipitation in Lærdal Municipality is Script error: No such module "convert"., and in the north only Script error: No such module "convert". in Skibotn at the head of Lyngenfjord. The regions east of the mountain chain (including Oslo) have a more continental climate with generally less precipitation, and precipitation peaks in summer and early autumn, while winter and spring tend to be driest. A large area in the interior of Finnmark receive less than Script error: No such module "convert". of precipitation annually. Some valleys surrounded by mountains get very scarce precipitation, and often need irrigation in summer. The upper part of Saltdal Municipality (81 m, Storjord) has the lowest annual average with only Script error: No such module "convert"., while in the south of Norway, Skjåk is driest with Script error: No such module "convert".. In Norway's High Arctic archipelagoes, Svalbard Airport has the lowest average annual precipitation with Script error: No such module "convert"., while Jan Mayen get more than double with Script error: No such module "convert"..
Monthly averages vary from Script error: No such module "convert". in April in upper Saltdal and Skjåk to Script error: No such module "convert". in December at Gullfjellet. Coastal areas from Lindesnes Municipality north to Vardø Municipality have more than 200 days per year with precipitation; however, this is with a very low threshold value (0.1 mm precipitation). The average annual number of days with at least Script error: No such module "convert". precipitation is 77 in Blindern/Oslo, 96 in Kjevik/Kristiansand, 158 in Florida/Bergen, 93 in Værnes/Trondheim, and 109 in Tromsø.[5]
Temperature
The coast experiences milder winters than other areas at the same latitudes. The average temperature difference between the coldest month and the warmest is only Script error: No such module "convert". in coastal areas; some lighthouses have a yearly amplitude of just Script error: No such module "convert"., such as Svinøy in Herøy Municipality with a coldest month of Script error: No such module "convert".. The differences of inland areas are larger, with a maximum difference of Script error: No such module "convert". in Karasjok Municipality. Finnmarksvidda has the coldest winters in mainland Norway, but inland areas much further south can also experience severe cold. Røros Municipality has recorded Script error: No such module "convert"..
Bø Municipality is the most northerly location in the world where all winter months have mean temperatures above Script error: No such module "convert".. Spring is the season when the temperature differences between the southern and northern part of the country is largest; this is also the time of year when daytime and nighttime temperatures differ the most. Inland valleys and the innermost fjord areas have less wind and see the warmest summer days. The lowland near Oslo is warmest in summer with 24 July-hr average of Script error: No such module "convert". and average daily high up to Script error: No such module "convert".. Inland areas reach their peak warmth around mid-July and coastal areas by the first half of August. Humidity is usually low in summer.
The North Atlantic Current splits in two over the northern part of the Norwegian Sea, one branch going east into the Barents Sea and the other going north along the west coast of Spitsbergen. This modifies the Arctic polar climate somewhat and results in open water throughout the year at higher latitudes than any other place in the Arctic. On the eastern coast of the Svalbard archipelago, the sea used to be frozen during most of the year, but the last years' warming (graph) have seen open waters noticeably longer.
The warmest temperature ever recorded in Norway is Script error: No such module "convert". in Nesbyen Municipality. The coldest temperature ever is Script error: No such module "convert". in Karasjok Municipality. The warmest month on record was July 1901 in Oslo, with a mean 24-hour temperature of Script error: No such module "convert".), and the coldest month was February 1966 in Karasjok, with a mean of Script error: No such module "convert".. The warmest night recorded in Norway was July 29, 2019 at Sømna-Kvaløyfjellet (302 m) in Sømn Municipalitya near Brønnøysund with overnight low Script error: No such module "convert"..[6] Atlantic lows bringing mild winds in winter further warmed by foehn can give warm temperatures in narrow fjords in winter: Sunndalsøra has recorded Script error: No such module "convert". in January and Script error: No such module "convert". in February.
Compared to coastal areas, inland valleys and the innermost fjord areas have larger diurnal temperature variations, especially in spring and summer.
Sunlight, time zones, and tides
Areas in Norway located north of the Arctic Circle have extreme darkness in winter, which increases with latitude. At Longyearbyen on the Svalbard islands in the extreme north, the upper part of the sun's disc is above the horizon from 9Script error: No such module "String".April to 23Script error: No such module "String".August, and winter darkness lasts from 27Script error: No such module "String".October to 14Script error: No such module "String".February. The winter darkness is not as dark on the northern mainland, as there is twilight for a few hours around noon.
The southern part of the country also experiences large seasonal variations in daylight; in Oslo, the sun rises at 03:54 and sets 22:54 at the summer solstice, but is only above the horizon from 09:18 to 15:12 at the winter solstice. The northern part of the country is located in the aurora borealis zone; the aurora is occasionally seen in the southern part of the country as well.
| Municipality | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kristiansand | 09:04–16:12 | 08:00–17:25 | 06:45–18:30 | 06:18–20:40 | 05:03–21:45 | 04:23–22:34 | 04:47–22:20 | 05:49–21:15 | 06:56–19:50 | 08:02–18:24 | 08:14–16:10 | 09:08–15:37 |
| Trondheim | 09:38–15:18 | 08:12–16:55 | 06:38–18:18 | 05:51–20:48 | 04:13–22:19 | 03:04–23:34 | 03:41–23:05 | 05:12–21:31 | 06:41–19:45 | 08:05–18:02 | 08:39–15:26 | 09:55–14:32 |
| Tromsø | 11:37–12:10 | 08:17–15:42 | 06:08–17:40 | 04:45–20:47 | 01:46–23:45 | Midnight sun | Midnight sun | 03:42–21:51 | 05:55–19:22 | 07:53–17:05 | 09:23–13:33 | Polar night |
Norway is on Central European Time, corresponding to the 15°E longitude. As the country is very elongated, this is at odds with the local daylight hours in the eastern and western parts. In Vardø, local daylight hours are 64 minutes earlier, and in Bergen, they are 39 minutes later. Thus, Finnmark gains early morning daylight but loses evening daylight, and Vestlandet loses early morning light but gains more evening daylight in this time zone. Daylight saving time (GMT + 2) is observed from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October.
The difference between low tide and high tide is small on the southern coast and large in the north; ranging from on average 0.17 m in Mandal to about 0.30 m in Oslo and Stavanger, 0.90 m in Bergen, 1.80 m in Trondheim, Bodø and Hammerfest and as much as 2.17 m in Vadsø.
Examples
Table
| Location | Elevation | Mean temperature (°C) | Precip | Köppen climate zone | Snow >25 cm (days) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | Apr | Jul | Sep | Nov | Year | |||||
| Blindern/Oslo | 94 m | -2.3 | 6.2 | 17.7 | 12.2 | 2.2 | 7 | 836 mm | Cfb/Dfb | 30 |
| Oslo Airport, Gardermoen | 202 m | -4.4 | 4.6 | 16.5 | 10.6 | 0.5 | 5.4 | 866 mm | Dfb | 76 |
| Lillehammer | 240 m | -6.1 | 4 | 16.1 | 10.1 | -1.2 | 4.4 | 715 mm | Dfb | 108 |
| Tynset | 482 m | -9.1 | 1.5 | 13.7 | 7.5 | -3.7 | 1.4 | 439 mm | Dfc | - |
| Geilo | 772 m | -6.2 | 0.5 | 12.4 | 7.4 | -2.8 | 2.0 | 699 mm | Dfc | 67 |
| Template:Ill in Lom Municipality (Sognefjell) | 1413 m | -8.6 | -4.3 | 7.4 | 2.9 | -5.5 | -2 | 948 mm | ET | 244 |
| Sarpsborg | 57 m | -1.4 | 5.8 | 17.4 | 12.2 | 3.1 | 7.2 | 887 mm | Cfb/Dfb | - |
| Notodden | 20 m | -4.5 | 5.6 | 17.1 | 11.2 | 0.6 | 5.7 | 741 mm | Dfb | - |
| Kjevik/Kristiansand | 12 m | 0.2 | 6 | 16.6 | 12.4 | 4 | 7.6 | 1381 mm | Cfb | 21 |
| Sola/Stavanger | 7 m | 2.6 | 6.9 | 15.3 | 13.2 | 5.7 | 8.4 | 1256 mm | Cfb | 0 |
| Bergen | 12 m | 2.6 | 7.2 | 15.6 | 12.6 | 5.3 | 8.4 | 2495 mm | Cfb | 3 |
| Lærdalsøyri | 24 m | -0.7 | 6.4 | 15.9 | 10.9 | 2.2 | 6.7 | 508 mm | Cfb/Dfb | 0 |
| Årø/Molde | 3 m | 1.1 | 5.7 | 15.4 | 11.4 | 3.9 | 7.1 | 1640 mm | Cfb | 54 |
| Røros Airport/Røros | 625 m | -8.5 | 0.2 | 12.4 | 6.9 | -4.1 | 1.1 | 525 mm | Dfc | 136 |
| Værnes/Trondheim | 12 m | -1.1 | 5.1 | 15.2 | 11 | 1.7 | 6.1 | 823 mm | Cfb/Dfb | 14 |
| Brønnøysund Airport/Brønnøysund | 5 m | 1.1 | 4.7 | 14.3 | 11.1 | 4 | 6.6 | 1510 mm | Cfb | 9 |
| Bodø Airport/Bodø | 11 m | -0.5 | 3.4 | 13.6 | 10.1 | 2.6 | 5.5 | 1117 mm | Cfb/Dfb | 23 |
| Bardufoss | 76 m | -9.7 | 0.6 | 13.7 | 7.4 | -4.7 | 1.3 | 703 mm | Dfc | 126 |
| Holt/Tromsø | 20 m | -2.1 | 1.7 | 12.4 | 8.3 | 1 | 3.9 | 958 mm | Cfc/Dfc | 160 |
| Kautokeino (Finnmarksvidda) | 307 m | -14.1 | -3 | 13.4 | 6 | -8.4 | -1.4 | 424 mm | Dfc | 135 |
| Alta Airport/Alta | 3 m | -6.8 | 0.4 | 13.7 | 8.2 | -2.8 | 2.3 | 438 mm | Dfc | - |
| Vardø | 10 m | -3.5 | 0.3 | 10 | 7.8 | -0.2 | 2.5 | 623 mm | Dfc | - |
| Jan Mayen | 10 m | -2.9 | -2.1 | 5.7 | 4.5 | -1 | 0.5 | 643 mm | ET (oceanic tundra) | - |
| Longyearbyen/Svalbard | 28 m | -10.9 | -8.8 | 7 | 2 | -6.4 | -3.9 | 217 mm | ET | 34 |
| If coldest winter month is between Script error: No such module "convert". and Script error: No such module "convert". the climate zone is named as Cfb/Dfb (or Cfc/Dfc) as Europe and US use different winter thresholds between C/D climates. Cfb=temperate oceanic/marine west coast; Dfb=humid continental; Cfc=subpolar oceanic (cold oceanic); Dfc=boreal/subarctic; ET=polar tundra or alpine tundra. Sep and Nov used to illustrates different climate zones better. Sognefjellhytta: Mountain lodge along Sognefjellsvegen west of Jotunheimen.Snow: Number of days/year with at least Script error: No such module "convert". snow on the ground; 1971–2000 base period. Due to warming most lowland areas have less snow in recent years. Snow data from nearby: Rørvik for Brønnøysund, Karasjok for Kautokeino, Tromsø snow from 100 m ASL; Molde snow 1979 - 87. Some locations have Feb colder than Jan; some coastal stations have Aug warmer than Jul. | ||||||||||
As seen from the table, Norway's climate shows large variations, but all populated areas of the Norwegian mainland have temperate or subarctic climates (Köppen groups C and D). Svalbard and Jan Mayen have a polar climate (Köppen group E).
As a consequence of warming since 1990, summers are warmer and longer and winters are getting shorter and milder. With the new official 1991-2020 climate normal, many areas have seen their climate change to a new climate zone compared to 1961-90 normal. Oslo's climate has moved from Dfb to Cfb/Dfb, Lillehammer's from Dfc to Dfb, Kristiansand from Cfb/Dfb to Cfb, Molde and Brønnøysund from Cfc/Dfc to Cfb, Trondheim from Dfc to Cfb/Dfb, Bodø from Cfc/Dfc to Cfb/Dfb, Tromsø (Holt) from Dfc to Cfc/Dfc and Vardø from ET to Dfc. Snow cover has decreased in most populated areas due to winter warming; days/year with 25 cm snow cover in 1991-2020 is 26 days in Oslo (94 m), 2 days in Bergen, 8 days in Trondheim/Værnes and 144 days in Tromsø. The strongest warming has been observed on Svalbard. In addition to warming, precipitation has increased in most areas, especially in winter, increasing erosion and the risk of landslides.
Weatherboxes
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Climate change
See also
Notes
- ↑ Measurements from fifteenth of month. Daylight saving in effect from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October. In Tromsø, the sun is below the horizon until 15 January, but is blocked by mountains until 21 January.
References
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- ↑ Almanakk for Norge; University of Oslo, 2011.
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