[ad_1]
According to the meteorologist, it is not just a fantasy: January this year has been colder than usual.
– It’s clearly colder than normal. Several places have likely had the lowest temperatures in a long time, says meteorologist Roar Inge Hansen in Storm.
Western Norway and Trøndelag have had the coldest January since 2010. With the low temperatures of recent days in eastern Norway, it probably hasn’t been this cold in eleven years either.
There has also been unusually little rainfall. Also, it can quickly get much hotter high up in the mountains than in the valley.
And if you believe the meteorologists, the unusually cold temperatures will last until March.
Low temperatures
The polar front is the boundary area that marks a strong temperature difference between cold polar air and warm subtropical air.
The polar front extends well south from the eastern side of the United States into Europe.
– Normally the Arctic Circle heads north to make it hotter in Norway. Now it has been fairly quiet and has persistently low temperatures, says the meteorologist.
The fact that we receive air from the North Pole also helps to cool it down. Also, Norway receives cooler easterly winds from Russia and Siberia.
It’s about 25 minus this weekend across much of the interior. On Friday it was 32 less in Hemsedal, 33 less in Folldal and up to 35 less in Gudbrandsdalen.
Conditions now make the winter months, as we are used to, quite different. Although the temperature is very low in the south, northern Norway has had normal and even slightly warmer temperatures.
It is also hotter than usual in Iceland and Greenland, while it is unusually cold in Sweden and Norway.
SNOW: Inland, in southern Norway, there can quickly be about a meter of snow. Photo: Erik Monrad-Hansen / TV 2
Warmer in height
Another thing the meteorologist thinks has been abnormal in January is that it has been very dry.
– From Trøndelag to Troms there has been very little precipitation. This has made many of the places snowless, despite the cold. In reality, there was less rainfall than normal across the country in January, Hansen says.
Eastern Norway has also seen little rainfall, but a little inland and in the hills is a big contrast. There can quickly be a meter of snow there.
– They are excellent conditions for skiing because there is sun, blue sky and snow. But you have to keep in mind that it is very cold, says Hansen.
He encourages people not to be intimidated when climbing the mountain.
– Many people may think that it is wiser to stay in the valleys when the temperatures are so low. The truth is that it is much colder there when there is no wind, whereas on the fast mountain it can be ten degrees warmer, says Hansen.
Colder when there is a stay
In winter, the meteorologist says it is a good rule of thumb to remember that it is generally colder when there is a stay.
– When there is a clear climate in winter, the ground loses much more heat to space. If, on the other hand, you have some clouds, the radiation will hit the clouds and be sent back to the ground. It becomes like a lid that prevents heat from escaping into space, explains the meteorologist.
For people who crave milder temperatures, the meteorologist says they may have to wait a long time.
– It was very cold this week. It all depends on whether it can be at least as cold in the next. There probably won’t be a place in Norway that doesn’t have negative grades, Hansen says.
And if the meteorologist’s Swedish colleague is to be believed, he will remain so until March.
SKI: Skier on the cross-country track in good winter weather in the high mountains of Skeikampen in the municipality of Gausdal in Gudbrandsdalen. Photo: Erik Johansen / NTB
Till March
– There are optimal conditions for a cold February, says meteorologist Mikael Sjöstrand to Aftonbladet.
He says he thinks it’s been ten years since Sweden last had such a winter.
– Really not every year we have such a cold climate. There will also be negative grades in most of the country in February, Sjöstrand tells the newspaper.
