Climate and Average Weather Year Round at Hopen Svalbard & Jan Mayen

At Hopen, the summers are very cold and windy; the winters are long, frigid, snowy, and extremely windy; and it is overcast year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 8°F to 41°F and is rarely below -15°F or above 45°F.

The warm season lasts for 3.0 months, from June 22 to September 23, with an average daily high temperature above 36°F. The hottest month of the year at Hopen is August, with an average high of 40°F and low of 36°F.

The cold season lasts for 4.6 months, from December 3 to April 21, with an average daily high temperature below 22°F. The coldest month of the year at Hopen is March, with an average low of 8°F and high of 18°F.

At Hopen, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year at Hopen begins around April 18 and lasts for 2.9 months, ending around July 14.

The clearest month of the year at Hopen is June, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 25% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around July 14 and lasts for 9.1 months, ending around April 18.

The cloudiest month of the year at Hopen is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 93% of the time.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. The chance of wet days at Hopen varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 8.0 months, from August 20 to April 20, with a greater than 15% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days at Hopen is October, with an average of 6.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.0 months, from April 20 to August 20. The month with the fewest wet days at Hopen is May, with an average of 3.2 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation at Hopen changes throughout the year.

Snow alone is the most common for 7.3 months, from October 18 to May 27. The month with the most days of snow alone at Hopen is February, with an average of 4.7 days.

Rain alone is the most common for 4.7 months, from May 27 to October 18. The month with the most days of rain alone at Hopen is September, with an average of 4.9 days.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Hopen experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

The rainy period of the year lasts for 4.4 months, from June 16 to October 30, with a sliding 31-day rainfall of at least 0.5 inches. The month with the most rain at Hopen is September, with an average rainfall of 1.0 inches.

The rainless period of the year lasts for 7.6 months, from October 30 to June 16. The month with the least rain at Hopen is March, with an average rainfall of 0.1 inches.

Snowfall

As with rainfall, we consider the snowfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Hopen experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly snowfall.

The snowy period of the year lasts for 9.5 months, from September 13 to June 28, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow at Hopen is December, with an average snowfall of 9.3 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 2.5 months, from June 28 to September 13. The least snow falls around August 4, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

Due to its extreme latitude, Hopen experiences polar day (also known as the midnight Sun) during the summer and polar night during the winter. These are periods of time in which the sun is continuously above or below the horizon for more than one day. The precise start and end dates of polar day and night vary from year to year and depend on the precise location and elevation of the observer, and the local topography.

In the summer at Hopen during 2024, the Sun is continuously above the horizon for 3.9 months, rising at 12:38 AM on April 23, and not setting again until 11:35 PM on August 19.

In the winter at Hopen during 2024, the Sun is continuously below the horizon for 3.4 months, setting at 11:04 AM on October 31, and not rising again until 10:52 AM on February 11.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed at Hopen during 2024, starting in the spring on March 31, lasting 6.9 months, and ending in the fall on October 27.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases.

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The perceived humidity level at Hopen, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed at Hopen experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.0 months, from September 20 to April 22, with average wind speeds of more than 14.9 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year at Hopen is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 18.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.0 months, from April 22 to September 20. The calmest month of the year at Hopen is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.9 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction at Hopen varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the north for 1.3 weeks, from March 21 to March 30; for 2.2 months, from April 6 to June 12; for 1.5 months, from September 29 to November 13; and for 4.1 weeks, from November 23 to December 22, with a peak percentage of 38% on October 26. The wind is most often from the east for 1.0 weeks, from March 30 to April 6; for 1.2 months, from August 24 to September 29; for 1.4 weeks, from November 13 to November 23; and for 3.0 months, from December 22 to March 21, with a peak percentage of 37% on April 1. The wind is most often from the west for 2.4 months, from June 12 to August 24, with a peak percentage of 34% on July 20.

Hopen is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 1.9 months, from July 20 to September 18, with an average temperature above 36°F. The month of the year at Hopen with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 38°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 7.1 months, from November 4 to June 6, with an average temperature below 32°F. The month of the year at Hopen with the coolest water is February, with an average temperature of 31°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is at Hopen throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season at Hopen typically lasts for 1.9 months (58 days), from around July 11 to around September 7, rarely starting before June 19, or ending after September 29.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from May 11 to July 7, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year at Hopen is June, with an average of 5.1 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 6.4 months, from September 12 to March 25, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.1 kWh. The darkest month of the year at Hopen is December, with an average of 0.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Hopen are 76.500 deg latitude, 25.067 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Hopen contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,050 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 99 feet. Within 10 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,217 feet). Within 50 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,220 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Hopen is covered by water (63%) and snow and glaciers (30%), within 10 miles by water (94%), and within 50 miles by water (100%).