Due to its northern latitude, many people automatically presume that Norway weather is going to be almost completely inhospitable. When looking at a map of the World, you will notice that Norway is at the same latitude as places like Greenland and Northern Siberia.
However, this is not necessarily the case. Norway weather is influenced by the warming effects of the Atlantic Ocean, to the west, and this can lead to a far more pleasant environment to live in than you would think. As Norway Direct aims to provide a site that will concentrate on Scandinavian topics, Norway weather was an issue that was thought appropriate to discuss here.
As hard as it may be to imagine, the warming effect that Norway weather experiences, originates from as far away as the tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Around three million years ago, the Isthmus of Panama formed, and this connected the two continents of North and South America with a land bridge. In turn, the warm ocean currents were no longer able to circulate around the equator, as they had before, and were forced northwards instead. This mild air stream is known as the Gulf Stream and is responsible for moderating the climate of Europe and the Norway weather.
With this in mind, the coastal areas of Norway especially, enjoy a far more hospitable climate than you would have thought. |
If it were not for the Gulf Stream, Norway weather would be completely different and, indeed, it is likely that much of the Scandinavian Peninsula would be locked up in a very thick ice sheet.