Climate - Vardo (Norway)

The climate of Vardø is subarctic, with very cold winters and very cool to quite cold summers.
The village is located in the extreme north-east of Norway, on a small island, overlooking the Barents Sea, which remains ice-free even in winter due to the Gulf Stream.
Since we are at the 70th parallel, therefore north of the Polar Circle, the sun does not rise (polar night) from November 24th to January 19th, and does not set (midnight sun) from May 16th to July 28th. The white nights, in which it is not completely dark even at midnight, occur as early as April 10th and until September 2nd.
The average temperature of the coldest month (February) is of -4.6 °C (24 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 9.8 °C (50 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 625 millimeters (24.6 inches) per year: so, it is at an intermediate level. It ranges from 35 mm (1.4 in) in the driest month (May) to 70 mm (2.8 in) in the wettest (October). Here is the average precipitation.

Winter is very cold, with frequent snowfalls. The ground is often covered with snow, however, there are quite mild periods, in which the temperature is just above freezing, and rain falls, or rain mixed with snow.
However, there are also cold periods, more or less long depending on the winter, in which the temperature drops below freezing and stays below even during the day. The temperature drops below -5 °C (23 °F) for twenty days in January to February, but also for eight days in November and six days in April.
On the coldest days of the year, the temperature generally drops to around -15 °C (5 °F), although it can drop to lower values from time to time. The record cold is -22 °C (-7.5 °F) and was recorded in February 1978. On other occasions, the temperature dropped to -21.5 °C (-6.5 °F) in January 1999, to -20.5 °C (-5 °F) in March 1953, January 1985 and January 1987, and to -20 °C (-4 °F) in February 1966, January 1979, February 1980, January 1986, and February 2012.

The summer is very cool, sometimes even cold, more than in the cities of the north-west coast of Norway (see Tromsø, Harstad, Alta). There are several days when fog forms, and the maximum temperature remains below 10 °C (50 °F). The rains are quite frequent.
Sometimes, however, there may be mild periods, usually of short duration, with highs of 18/22 °C (64/68 °F). Very rarely it can exceed 25 °C (77 °F). The highest records are: 27 °C (80.5 °F) in July 1987, 25 °C (77 °F) in June 1992 and August 2003, and 26.5 °C (79.5 °F) in July 2018.



The sea temperature ranges between 3 °C (37 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F). So, it is cold all year round. Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

The best time to visit Vardø is the summer, in July and August, since they are the mildest months. However, you must take into account cloudy skies, some rain and a bit of cold.