UPDATED: Summer arrived with a vengeance last week, especially in Oslo where temperatures soared to as high as 27C (nearly 80F) on Thursday. The unusually warm weather continued into the weekend, but then turned chilly again on Monday.
It was actually warmer in Oslo last week than it was in southern Europe and the Canary Islands. Many Norwegians immediately headed for the fjord, with the beaches at Huk on Bygdøy, for example, full of sunbathers.
Temperatures in the water remain chilly, at only around 10-12C, but some brave souls dove in anyway. Newspaper Aftenposten reported on Thursday that the water temperatures would quickly rise, with the warm air temperatures due to stick around through the upcoming holiday weekend. Monday May 28 was the legal pinse (Whitsund) holiday in Norway.
Forecasts called for temperatures of 26C in Oslo both Friday and Saturday, with warm sunny weather expected from Trondheim (22C) and south. It remained nippy in northern Norway, though, with a high of 9C in Brønnøysund and 7C in Hammerfest (mid- to high 40sF). On Tuesday, residents of Tromsø woke up to eight centimeters of new snow.
By Monday evening, some residents of southern Norway were lighting up their fireplaces again when temperatures sank as low as 10C. On Tuesday morning, Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) was reporting temperatures down to 2C in some part of the Oslo area, just over the freezing point, after a new cold front moved in. The most recent forecasts called for highs in the teens through the week, with clouds and showers by Friday and probably through the weekend.
More precise weather forecasts may not be forthcoming, since most state meteorologists were pulled out on strike on Tuesday, joining those who walked off the job in central Norway last week.
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