January in the north always drags out because it is so cold and dark. I live in MN where the temperature is frequently in the single digits, and sometimes (like right now…) below zero. I´ve lived in MN my whole life except for the 2 times I lived in Norway, so cold and snowy climates are home to me. I often ask myself why I still live in this climate if it is for the most part unpleasant for half of the year. Then others ask me why I chose to live in Norway, another cold climate. I´m not sure I can answer other than that it´s home. Believe it or not, for a whole year straight, including winter, I woke up at 6 to run with my dog before work. I didn´t care how cold it was, I was determined. There were mornings when it was -10 and we just fired up our engines and went.
If you spend time in Norway in January or February, unless you are on the coast., you will experience this cold as well. See the table below for average daytime temperatures by month:
Average daytime temperatures
|
Oslo |
Bergen |
Trondheim |
Bodø |
Tromsø |
| January |
-2.3 |
2.7 |
-1.6 |
-1.3 |
-3.8 |
| February |
-1.3 |
3 |
-0.7 |
-0.9 |
-3.1 |
| March |
2.4 |
4.9 |
2.1 |
-1 |
-1 |
| April |
7.3 |
8 |
5.1 |
3.8 |
1.7 |
| May |
14 |
12.9 |
10.5 |
8.5 |
6.1 |
| June |
17.6 |
15.1 |
13.2 |
11.8 |
11 |
| July |
19.9 |
16.6 |
15.3 |
14.1 |
13.7 |
| August |
18.7 |
16.3 |
14.9 |
13.8 |
12.5 |
| September |
13.7 |
13.3 |
11.3 |
10.7 |
8.4 |
| October |
8.1 |
9.8 |
6.7 |
6 |
3.3 |
| November |
2.3 |
5.8 |
1.8 |
1.7 |
-1 |
| December |
-1.4 |
3.3 |
-1.1 |
-0.5 |
-3 |
Source: Meteorologisk institutt
I remember a day in January of 2006 when I was living in Oslo that I still think about occasionally to this day. The international students had an opportunity to be on a guided tour of a large portion of Oslo. The tour focused on Akerselv, the river that runs through Oslo. While the information we learned at the tour was very interesting, I wanted nothing else than to sneak into a café and enjoy warmth. That is eventually what we did, but it took a long time to get over our pride issue.
I remember another day that I can say was the coldest of my life. Again, a tour for international students at Akershus Fortress. Our tour guide was trying to be really tough-just a thin pea coat, no hat, no mittens. Suicide, if you ask me. Why did the international event coordinator pick the cold month of January for all of our tours??
Norway can get very cold and if you are on the coast (depending where), when it is that cold plus there is a lot of moisture in the air, it is a damp, wet cold that in my opinion feels colder than a dry, cold climate like MN.
Coldest temperature recorded in Norway was in Røros at -58, that´s negative 58 degrees fahrenheit. WOW.
Comments:
Missy:
I love your blog. You write about different aspects of living in Norway and you make great observations.
.I can’t get to Norway right now but I am planning it in the future, after my kids are done with school. Your blog keeps me motivated!
…..And you’re from Minnesota!
kari:
Thanks Missy! I’m glad you enjoy reading my blog, and that it motivates you! Are you also from Minnesota?