Average Weather in Sandur Faroe Islands

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In Sandur, the summers are short, cold, and windy; the winters are long, chilly, wet, and extremely windy; and it is mostly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 35°F to 55°F and is rarely below 29°F or above 58°F.

The warm season lasts for 2.6 months, from June 24 to September 12, with an average daily high temperature above 52°F. The hottest day of the year is August 4, with an average high of 55°F and low of 49°F.

The cool season lasts for 4.7 months, from November 22 to April 12, with an average daily high temperature below 44°F. The coldest day of the year is February 18, with an average low of 35°F and high of 41°F.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the entire year of hourly average temperatures. The horizontal axis is the day of the year, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

In Sandur, 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 Sandur begins around April 12 and lasts for 6.4 months, ending around October 23. On May 30, the clearest day of the year, the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 43% of the time, and overcast or mostly cloudy 57% of the time.

The cloudier part of the year begins around October 23 and lasts for 5.6 months, ending around April 12. On January 28, the cloudiest day of the year, the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 72% of the time, and clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 28% 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 Sandur varies throughout the year.

The wetter season lasts 6.8 months, from September 7 to March 31, with a greater than 38% chance of a given day being a wet day. The chance of a wet day peaks at 52% on January 4.

The drier season lasts 5.2 months, from March 31 to September 7. The smallest chance of a wet day is 23% on June 7.

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 throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 49% 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. Sandur experiences significant seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Sandur. The most rain falls during the 31 days centered around November 11, with an average total accumulation of 3.7 inches.

The least rain falls around May 28, with an average total accumulation of 1.5 inches.

Snowfall

The sliding 31-day liquid-equivalent quantity of snowfall in Sandur does not vary significantly over the course of the year, staying within 0.1 inches of 0.1 inches throughout.

The length of the day in Sandur varies extremely over the course of the year. In 2017, the shortest day is December 21, with 5 hours, 13 minutes of daylight; the longest day is June 21, with 19 hours, 40 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 3:38 AM on June 19, and the latest sunrise is 6 hours, 12 minutes later at 9:50 AM on December 27. The earliest sunset is at 3:00 PM on December 16, and the latest sunset is 8 hours, 19 minutes later at 11:19 PM on June 22.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Sandur during 2017, starting in the spring on March 26, lasting 7.1 months, and ending in the fall on October 29.

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 Sandur, 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 Sandur experiences significant seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 7.1 months, from September 20 to April 24, with average wind speeds of more than 9.7 miles per hour. The windiest day of the year is January 22, with an average hourly wind speed of 12.5 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 4.9 months, from April 24 to September 20. The calmest day of the year is July 24, with an average hourly wind speed of 7.1 miles per hour.

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

The wind is most often from the south for 2.0 weeks, from March 13 to March 27; for 1.0 months, from April 7 to May 8; and for 8.5 months, from June 26 to March 10, with a peak percentage of 31% on March 20. The wind is most often from the east for 3.0 weeks, from May 8 to May 29, with a peak percentage of 29% on May 26. The wind is most often from the north for 4.0 weeks, from May 29 to June 26, with a peak percentage of 29% on June 10.

Sandur 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 10 to October 2, with an average temperature above 50°F. The day of the year with the warmest water is August 17, with an average temperature of 51°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 4.5 months, from December 25 to May 10, with an average temperature below 46°F. The day of the year with the coolest water is February 23, with an average temperature of 44°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 2.8 months, from May 8 to August 1, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 4.4 kWh. The brightest day of the year is June 19, with an average of 5.6 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 day of the year is December 22, with an average of 0.1 kWh.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Sandur are 61.842 deg latitude, -6.808 deg longitude, and 266 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Sandur contains very significant variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 1,444 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 421 feet. Within 10 miles also contains very significant variations in elevation (1,509 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (2,887 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Sandur is covered by trees (37%), grassland (34%), and water (28%), within 10 miles by water (84%), and within 50 miles by water (94%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Sandur, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There is only a single weather station, Vágar Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Sandur.

At a distance of 35 kilometers from Sandur, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records.

The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Sandur according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Tables of the Sun, Moon and Planets , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for aiports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © Esri, with data from National Geographic, Esri, DeLorme, NAVTEQ, UNEP-WCMC, USGS, NASA, ESA, METI, NRCAN, GEBCO, NOAA, and iPC.