Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Faroe Islands Faroe Islands

In Faroe Islands, the summers are short, cold, and windy; the winters are long, very cold, wet, and extremely windy; and it is mostly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 34°F to 54°F and is rarely below 28°F or above 58°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Faroe Islands for warm-weather activities is from late July to mid August.

The warm season lasts for 2.6 months, from June 24 to September 11, with an average daily high temperature above 51°F. The hottest month of the year in Faroe Islands is August, with an average high of 53°F and low of 48°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.7 months, from November 20 to April 11, with an average daily high temperature below 43°F. The coldest month of the year in Faroe Islands is February, with an average low of 35°F and high of 40°F.

In Faroe Islands, the average percentage of the sky covered by clouds experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The clearer part of the year in Faroe Islands begins around April 12 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around October 1.

The clearest month of the year in Faroe Islands is May, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 41% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 1 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around April 12.

The cloudiest month of the year in Faroe Islands is February, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 72% 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 in Faroe Islands varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.9 months, from September 6 to April 2, with a greater than 38% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Faroe Islands is January, with an average of 15.6 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 5.1 months, from April 2 to September 6. The month with the fewest wet days in Faroe Islands is June, with an average of 7.6 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. The month with the most days of rain alone in Faroe Islands is November, with an average of 13.6 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 46% on January 4.

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. Faroe Islands experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Faroe Islands. The month with the most rain in Faroe Islands is November, with an average rainfall of 3.7 inches.

The month with the least rain in Faroe Islands is May, with an average rainfall of 1.7 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 3.5 months, from December 10 to March 26, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Faroe Islands is February, with an average snowfall of 1.7 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 8.5 months, from March 26 to December 10. The least snow falls around July 21, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

The length of the day in Faroe Islands varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2023, the shortest day is December 22, with 5 hours, 9 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 19 hours, 45 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 3:37 AM on June 20, and the latest sunrise is 6 hours, 16 minutes later at 9:52 AM on December 26. The earliest sunset is at 2:59 PM on December 17, and the latest sunset is 8 hours, 23 minutes later at 11:22 PM on June 23.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Faroe Islands during 2023, starting in the spring on March 26, lasting 7.1 months, and ending in the fall on October 29.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 2023. 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 in Faroe Islands, 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 in Faroe Islands experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from September 20 to April 25, with average wind speeds of more than 18.1 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Faroe Islands is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 22.7 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.9 months, from April 25 to September 20. The calmest month of the year in Faroe Islands is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 13.4 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Faroe Islands varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the west for 3.0 days, from March 10 to March 13 and for 1.3 weeks, from March 27 to April 5, with a peak percentage of 30% on March 10. The wind is most often from the south for 2.0 weeks, from March 13 to March 27; for 3.3 weeks, from April 5 to April 28; and for 8.5 months, from June 26 to March 10, with a peak percentage of 30% on March 20. The wind is most often from the north for 2.7 weeks, from April 28 to May 17 and for 4.0 weeks, from May 29 to June 26, with a peak percentage of 28% on June 10.

Faroe Islands 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 2.7 months, from July 11 to October 3, with an average temperature above 49°F. The month of the year in Faroe Islands with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 51°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.6 months, from December 23 to May 10, with an average temperature below 46°F. The month of the year in Faroe Islands with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 44°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Faroe Islands throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Faroe Islands for general outdoor tourist activities is from late July to mid August, with a peak score in the first week of August.

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 in Faroe Islands typically lasts for 6.4 months (196 days), from around April 25 to around November 7, rarely starting before March 27 or after May 17, and rarely ending before October 5 or after December 9.

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 2.7 months, from May 8 to July 31, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.4 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Faroe Islands is June, with an average of 5.4 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 4.8 months, from October 12 to March 5, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.2 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Faroe Islands is December, with an average of 0.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Faroe Islands are 62.000 deg latitude, -7.000 deg longitude, and 0 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Faroe Islands is essentially flat, with a maximum elevation change of 0 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 0 feet. Within 10 miles is also essentially flat (0 feet). Within 50 miles is also essentially flat (0 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Faroe Islands is covered by water (92%), within 10 miles by water (68%) and grassland (17%), and within 50 miles by water (94%).