NorgeStart
Weather & seasons
Norway has four seasons but they arrive at very different times depending on where you are, and the difference between the coast and the inland is larger than the difference between north and south. Winter darkness is harder on most newcomers than winter cold. The cold is a solved problem: it is entirely about clothing, and Norwegians will tell you so.
NorgeStart is an independent private service. It is not a government agency and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by any Norwegian public authority. NorgeStart brings information from many official Norwegian sources together in one place, and we work to keep it up to date. Even so, rules, rates and amounts can change at any time, and we cannot guarantee that a page here always matches the authority's latest wording. Always confirm with the responsible authority before you act. We give general information, not professional advice on legal, tax, immigration or medical matters, and we take no responsibility for differences between this page and the official source, or for decisions taken on the basis of it.
Four seasons, and what each one actually feels like
- Norway has four seasons, but they are not evenly sized and they arrive at very different times depending on how far north you are.
- Winter (roughly November–March): Oslo typically −5 to 0°C, Bergen milder and much wetter, Tromsø colder with snow cover for months. Inland valleys can drop below −20°C.
- Spring (April–May) is short and dramatic — snowmelt, sudden light, and the first warm day is practically a national event. Første vårdag is 1 March meteorologically, 20 March astronomically.
- Summer (June–August): Oslo averages about 20–22°C and can pass 30°C. North of the Arctic Circle the sun does not set for weeks — the midnight sun runs roughly late May to late July in Tromsø.
- Autumn (September–October): fast, colourful and wet. Bergen gets around 2 000 mm of rain a year, roughly three times Oslo.
- The winter counterpart of the midnight sun is mørketid — in the far north the sun stays below the horizon for weeks around midwinter.
Seasons & what they mean for you
- Winter (Nov–Mar): Oslo −10…0°, snow; coast (Bergen/Stavanger) mild ~0–5° but wet and windy; the north −15…−5° with proper snow. Days are SHORT: Oslo ~6h light in December; north of the Arctic Circle the sun doesn't rise for weeks (mørketid — polar night, Tromsø ~27 Nov–15 Jan).
- Summer (Jun–Aug): 15–25°, occasionally 30°. North of the circle: midnight sun — 24h daylight (blackout curtains are not optional).
- Spring is late (May explodes in green); autumn is short, golden and wet.
- Bergen has ~230 rain days/year — locals just dress for it and go anyway.
Surviving (and loving) winter
- The national motto: "There is no bad weather, only bad clothes." Layering: wool base (ull er gull — wool is gold), fleece mid, shell top. Cotton kills in winter.
- Buy: wool underwear, proper winter boots, ice grippers (brodder) for pavements, a refleks (reflector tag) — everyone wears one in the dark, drivers expect it.
- Beat the dark: vitamin D is standard advice (tran/cod-liver oil is the classic), get outside in daylight hours, and adopt kos — candles, blankets, friends indoors.
- Check yr.no — the national weather app everyone quotes like scripture.
Moving to Norway or just arrived? NorgeStart explains Norwegian bureaucracy, work, taxes, housing, healthcare and daily life in plain language — with an AI assistant that explains important documents and gives clear, source-based answers.