Hottest May on record

Oslo’s hottest summer, 1947, could lose its place in weather history

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Oslo is not the only part of the country seeing record May temperatures—southwestern Bergen has had its warmest fifth month since 1981. Sunbathers enjoyed the record temperatures in Nygårdsparken in the heart of the city.

The Local

Last month was the warmest May ever recorded in eastern Norway, beating a record that has stood for 71 years.

The average temperature for the month was the warmest for May since the Norwegian Meteorological Institute began records in 1937, NRK reports.

An average temperature of 14.5 degrees Celsius (58.1°F) measured at the institute’s offices at Blindern in Oslo beats the previous record of 14.4 (57.9°F) degrees from 1947, meteorologist Bente Marie Wahl told NRK.

“The rest of May also looks like it will be warm, so (the record average temperature) is likely to stay in place, maybe even increase by a fraction,” Wahl added.

“But summer 1947 in Oslo is considered the warmest summer ever. That year also has the record of 21 days over 20 degrees [68°F] in May, and we also have a good chance of beating that record—it may be as many as 23 days,” Wahl said.

Although 1947’s warm May was followed by a warm June and July and then an extremely warm and dry August, the probability of that being repeated is highly uncertain.

“High pressure weather comes in cycles and often remains in place for two to three weeks, but of course there are exceptions,” Wahl told NRK.

This article originally appeared in the June 1, 2018, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.