Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Olonkinbyen Svalbard & Jan Mayen

In Olonkinbyen, the summers are short, very cold, and windy; the winters are long, freezing, snowy, and extremely windy; and it is overcast year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 21°F to 45°F and is rarely below 9°F or above 49°F.

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

The warm season lasts for 2.5 months, from June 29 to September 13, with an average daily high temperature above 42°F. The hottest month of the year in Olonkinbyen is August, with an average high of 45°F and low of 40°F.

The cold season lasts for 4.9 months, from November 26 to April 23, with an average daily high temperature below 31°F. The coldest month of the year in Olonkinbyen is March, with an average low of 22°F and high of 28°F.

In Olonkinbyen, 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 Olonkinbyen begins around April 12 and lasts for 2.8 months, ending around July 5.

The clearest month of the year in Olonkinbyen is May, 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 5 and lasts for 9.2 months, ending around April 12.

The cloudiest month of the year in Olonkinbyen is January, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 89% 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 Olonkinbyen varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 7.8 months, from August 18 to April 11, with a greater than 22% chance of a given day being a wet day. The month with the most wet days in Olonkinbyen is November, with an average of 9.1 days with at least 0.04 inches of precipitation.

The drier season lasts 4.2 months, from April 11 to August 18. The month with the fewest wet days in Olonkinbyen is June, with an average of 3.6 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. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation in Olonkinbyen changes throughout the year.

Rain alone is the most common for 8.5 months, from April 13 to December 27. The month with the most days of rain alone in Olonkinbyen is September, with an average of 7.6 days.

Snow alone is the most common for 3.5 months, from December 27 to April 13. The month with the most days of snow alone in Olonkinbyen is March, with an average of 4.0 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. Olonkinbyen experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Olonkinbyen. The month with the most rain in Olonkinbyen is October, with an average rainfall of 2.0 inches.

The month with the least rain in Olonkinbyen is April, with an average rainfall of 0.6 inches.

Snowfall

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

The snowy period of the year lasts for 7.7 months, from October 2 to May 23, with a sliding 31-day snowfall of at least 1.0 inches. The month with the most snow in Olonkinbyen is March, with an average snowfall of 9.4 inches.

The snowless period of the year lasts for 4.3 months, from May 23 to October 2. The least snow falls around August 2, with an average total accumulation of 0.0 inches.

Due to its extreme latitude, Olonkinbyen 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 in Olonkinbyen during 2024, the Sun is continuously above the horizon for 2.6 months, rising at 2:40 AM on May 12, and not setting again until 2:25 AM on July 31.

In the winter in Olonkinbyen during 2024, the Sun is continuously below the horizon for 2.0 months, setting at 1:33 PM on November 20, and not rising again until 1:13 PM on January 22.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Olonkinbyen 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 in Olonkinbyen, 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 Olonkinbyen experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.3 months, from September 20 to April 30, with average wind speeds of more than 16.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Olonkinbyen is January, with an average hourly wind speed of 20.8 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.7 months, from April 30 to September 20. The calmest month of the year in Olonkinbyen is July, with an average hourly wind speed of 11.3 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 1.3 months, from July 12 to August 22, with a peak percentage of 31% on August 1. The wind is most often from the north for 11 months, from August 22 to July 12, with a peak percentage of 42% on January 1.

Olonkinbyen 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 2.2 months, from July 15 to September 23, with an average temperature above 41°F. The month of the year in Olonkinbyen with the warmest water is August, with an average temperature of 43°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 5.5 months, from December 13 to May 27, with an average temperature below 35°F. The month of the year in Olonkinbyen with the coolest water is March, with an average temperature of 33°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Olonkinbyen 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 Olonkinbyen for general outdoor tourist activities is from late July to early 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 Olonkinbyen typically lasts for 3.1 months (94 days), from around June 18 to around September 20, rarely starting before May 30 or after July 9, and rarely ending before September 2 or after October 8.

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 significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 1.9 months, from May 14 to July 10, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 3.9 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Olonkinbyen is June, with an average of 4.8 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 5.8 months, from September 24 to March 19, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 1.0 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Olonkinbyen is December, with an average of 0.0 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Olonkinbyen are 70.922 deg latitude, -8.719 deg longitude, and 164 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Olonkinbyen contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,765 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 519 feet. Within 10 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,513 feet). Within 50 miles contains large variations in elevation (7,454 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Olonkinbyen is covered by sparse vegetation (43%), water (35%), and snow and glaciers (20%), within 10 miles by water (77%) and snow and glaciers (11%), and within 50 miles by water (98%).