|
|
Weather and Climate
Given Norway’s extreme northerly position, its mainland climate is surprisingly mild.
Norway is the northernmost country in the world to have open waters. This is due to the trade winds forced across the Atlantic Ocean by the American continent and the warm currents flowing north from the Equator towards the Norwegian Sea, where the angle of the Norwegian coastline and an open path to the Arctic Ocean helps to guide the temperate air and waters to more northerly latitude. |
|
 |
March Skiing  |
| Norway’s climate fluctuates greatly from year to year, especially in its most northern parts, which are located at the edge of the global temperate zone. The lowest minimum temperature recorded is -51°C in Karasjok in northern Norway. The average annual temperature swings from some 8°C along the western coast to below freezing in the mountains. The coldest months of the year are January and February and the warmest time in the inland areas is mid-July, while the coastal and mountains regions may reach their peaks somewhat later. |
|
 |
High Summer |
|
The country is at its best and brightest from May to September, and at its ‘darkest’ between November and March when average temperatures are below freezing. Midnight-sun days, when the sun never drops below the horizon, extend from 13 May to 29 July at Nordkapp in the far north, and from 28 May to 14 July in the Lofoten islands. Even southern Norway has daylight from 4 am to 11 pm in midsummer. On the other hand, the sun does not rise in the north from the end of November to the end of January.
|
|
|
|
