Home › Cities › Svalbard › Olonkinbyen
Olonkinbyen, Svalbard climate
ET Tundra
Olonkinbyen has a mildly seasonal subarctic climate (Tundra, Köppen ET). The hottest month is August with an average daily high near 46°F, while the coldest is March averaging around 22°F at night. Around 25 inches of precipitation falls each year, peaking in September (3.1 inches) and easing off in June (1.0 inches). At latitude 71°N, day length swings from 0.0 hours in midwinter to 24.0 hours at midsummer.
Temperature & precipitation
Daily high–low temperature range with the monthly average, plus monthly precipitation · 1991–2020 normals · hover a month for the exact figuresHours of sunshine per day
Estimated sunny hours each month — daylight length × clear-sky fraction · 1991–2020 monthly cloud cover (NASA POWER)Olonkinbyen climate normals (1991–2020)
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 31 | 30 | 29 | 32 | 36 | 41 | 46 | 46 | 43 | 37 | 34 | 31 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 27 | 26 | 25 | 28 | 33 | 38 | 43 | 44 | 40 | 34 | 30 | 27 |
| Avg low (°F) | 23 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 41 | 38 | 32 | 27 | 24 |
| Precipitation (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 31 | 30 | 29 | 32 | 36 | 41 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 27 | 26 | 25 | 28 | 33 | 38 |
| Avg low (°F) | 23 | 22 | 22 | 25 | 30 | 35 |
| Precipitation (in) | 2.5 | 2.0 | 2.1 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.0 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high (°F) | 46 | 46 | 43 | 37 | 34 | 31 |
| Avg temp (°F) | 43 | 44 | 40 | 34 | 30 | 27 |
| Avg low (°F) | 40 | 41 | 38 | 32 | 27 | 24 |
| Precipitation (in) | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 2.8 | 2.7 | 2.7 |
How often — frequency of weather events
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 22 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Days with low ≤ 32°F (days) | 27 | 26 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 7 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4 | 18 | 23 | 27 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 22 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 13 | 11 |
| Days with low ≤ 32°F (days) | 27 | 26 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 7 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days with measurable rain (days) | 14 | 17 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| Days with low ≤ 32°F (days) | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4 | 18 | 23 | 27 |
Sky & atmosphere
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 89 | 90 | 89 | 85 | 84 | 81 | 90 | 89 | 87 | 87 | 89 | 90 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 87 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 88 | 92 | 95 | 93 | 89 | 86 | 85 | 86 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 17.6 | 17.4 | 16.6 | 14.7 | 12.5 | 9.9 | 9.5 | 10.4 | 13.3 | 15.3 | 16.5 | 17.9 |
| Jan – Jun | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 89 | 90 | 89 | 85 | 84 | 81 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 87 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 88 | 92 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 17.6 | 17.4 | 16.6 | 14.7 | 12.5 | 9.9 |
| Jul – Dec | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cloud cover (%) | 90 | 89 | 87 | 87 | 89 | 90 |
| Relative humidity (%) | 95 | 93 | 89 | 86 | 85 | 86 |
| Wind speed (mph) | 9.5 | 10.4 | 13.3 | 15.3 | 16.5 | 17.9 |
Methodology & sources
Temperature & precipitation — 1991–2020 normals computed from 30 years of daily observations at Jan Mayen, a weather station, about 2 km from the city centre. The underlying daily records come from NOAA's global station network.
Cloud, humidity, wind & sunshine — modelled estimates from NASA POWER, NASA's satellite-and-reanalysis climatology. This is the standard global source for atmospheric variables, which are not measured at most weather stations.