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The climate of Norway
Norway has a mild climate considering its location. Under the strong
influence of the Atlantic Ocean winters are fairly cold. However, it
could have been much colder if you look at the degrees of latitude in
between which the country is situated. The Atlantic Gulf Stream causes
the sea water to be relatively warm, because of this it hardly ever
freezes over. Only during extremely cold winters the sea water off the
most northerly coast of Norway may freeze over. Norway has five
climate types according to the Köppen Geiger climate classification.
The coastal areas in the south and southwest have a moderate maritime
climate, type Cfb. Characteristic of this climate type are fairly mild
winters and summers with precipitation all year round. Small regions
along the west coast have a cool maritime climate (type Cfc) with
slightly lower temperatures both during summer and winter than in the
southern part of the country.
The interior in the south and southwest has a moderate
continental climate (type Dfb). Here the sea has little influence on
the climate causing the weather to be more unstable and winters to be
colder. Further to the north a combination of three climate types can
be found. The largest part of the interior has a cool continental
climate (type Dfd) changing into a tundra climate (type ET). Several
higher regions in central Norway have a high mountain climate (type
EH). Almost 90% of Norway has a subarctic climate (overall
classification). Characteristic of this climate type are relatively
short summers, the possibility of extremely low temperatures (-30 to
-40)
Climate information of places and areas in Norway
The climate information on this page is only brief. Specific
information about weather and climate can be found on the climate
pages per area or town. As for Norway the following climate
information is available:
Influence of the Atlantic Ocean
The influence of the Atlantic Ocean causes temperatures to be tempered
during the summer in the southern part of the country. During the
winter temperatures remain mild along the coast because of this
influence. In the interior this effect is much smaller and
consequently temperatures may be much lower here than along the coast.
The ocean also supplies many rain depressions causing especially the
southwestern part of Norway to have high precipitation figures, a
large part of which falls in the form of snow during the winter.
Wind
The ocean also causes the wind to blow freely. The coastal areas in
Norway are very windy. The joined forces of wind and sea water have
formed a large part of the characteristic landscape with many fjords
and rugged rocks. About three quarters of the time the wind blows
fiercely along the coast. The windiest part is the most southeasterly
tip. The wind that is supplied over Skagerrak to Færder Fyr and
Frederikstad causes stormy weather for about 30 days per year.
Cool summers
Summers in Norway are fairly cool. Under the influence of high
pressure areas over Scandinavia it may get warm in June, July and
August. However, temperatures higher than 25-28 degrees Celsius are
uncommon. It may get slightly warmer on a single day, but this is
exceptional. Summers in Norway are characterized by long days. In the
southern part the night only lasts for 5-6 hours in June. In the most
northern part the sun doesn’t set at all, here you can enjoy the
midsummer night. In the northern half of Norway summers are cool.
During the summer daytime temperatures hardly ever rise above 20
degrees Celsius (14-15 degrees Celsius on average). During the night
temperatures are just above freezing point. No ideal conditions for a
sunny holiday. However, the weather is very pleasant to go walking,
cycling or take photographs of this part of Scandinavia.
Precipitation
Norway has the reputation of being a wet country. However, this is
only partially true. The lower areas along the west coast are fairly
wet. Depending on the exact location these areas get 800-1,200
millimeters of annual precipitation. On the windward side of the
mountains rain clouds are forced up the mountains causing precipitation
figures to be high. This is especially the case in the southern part
of Norway where precipitation figures may rise as high as 2,000-4,000
millimeters per year. Characteristic of this region is the slightly
drier spring and a wet fall in which precipitation is often combined
with wind. During the winter a large part of the precipitation falls
in the form of snow, hail and glazed frost. Only along the coast there
may be rainfall instead of wintry precipitation. The leeward side of
the mountains is much drier. The valleys in Oppland are driest with
300-400 millimeters of annual precipitation. The driest city in Norway
is Skják with only 278 millimeters of annual precipitation. The most
northerly situated province in Norway, Finnmark can also be referred
to as dry. The northwestern part of Finnmark gets about 450
millimeters of annual precipitation, the rest of the province can
record 300 millimeters of annual precipitation on average. The cities
located along the Oslo Fjord, including the capital Oslo are fairly
dry as well. On average this region gets about 500-600 millimeters of
annual precipitation.
Climate figures
The figures below are based on long term weather and climate
records. They are an average for the southern part of Norway. The
largest deviations are: the northern part of the country is much
colder; the temperature of the sea is colder in the north and the west
coast is much wetter, especially the region between Stavanger and
Kristiansund. On the same degree of latitude large differences in
temperatures may occur which is caused by the influence of the sea and
the differences in altitude.
More climate information
Climate tables are useful but they don’t give an overall picture of
the climate and possible weather conditions during a period of time.
How high the chances are of hot or cold weather or hurricanes can
often not be found in these tables. This is why we offer extra climate
information per month. The figures below are for the larger part of
Norway. However, local deviations may occur. Chances of wintry weather
are much higher in the central part of Norway as well as in the
northern part and in the higher regions. The western part of the
country may experience long lasting precipitation. In the western part
of the country chances of summer weather are small to nil with the
exception of the southern part. UV-index figures are lower in the
northern part than shown in the figures below.
Disclaimer
The information at this site was carefully composed from climate data collected by meteorological services, meteorological offices, climate experts and other sources. “More climate info” is based on statistics, climate data and personal experience. No rights can be derived from this site. Weather has no memory and gives no guaranties. Nothing is as changeable and unpredictable as the weather. The authors of this site feel in no way responsible for any damages caused by misinterpretation or other circumstances that may influence your holiday or trip to a certain destination. We provide information, it’s up to the reader to use it to it’s benefit.
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= 0-5 mm ●
= 6-30 mm ●
= 31-60 mm ●
= 61-100 mm ●
= 101-200 mm ●
=
over 200 mm
