Light
There are extreme variations in daylight between winter and summer. At Nordkapp the midnight sun can be seen from 11 May to 31 July, and the sun does not rise above the horizon from 19 November to 22 January. For Tromsø, the dates are 17 May to 25 July, and 26 November to 15 January, respectively; and for Bodø from 30 May to 12 July (no polar night in Bodø). The mid-winter darkness is not totally dark on the mainland; there is twilight for about three hours around noon in Tromsø. Helgeland does not have true midnight sun, but the upper part of the sun disc never descends below the horizon as far south as Mosjøen in June. February is a transitional period when the sun rapidly returns, and March and April often feel like an explosion of light with long daylight hours and snow cover in most areas except the coastal strip of Nordland. The Aurora Borealis can be seen in the whole area from autumn to mid-April, after which it gets too bright to observe the Aurora.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bodø sunrise & sunset 15. of the month | 10:18 - 14:05 | 08:16 - 16:18 | 06:24 - 18:02 | 05:16 - 20:51 | 03:06 - 22:56 | Midnight sun | 01:40 - 00:30 | 04:27 - 21:43 | 06:20 - 19:34 | 08:02 - 17:33 | 09:04 - 14:29 | 11:18 - 12:37 | |
| Tromsø sunrise & sunset 15. of month | 11:31 - 12:17 | 08:16 - 15:43 | 06:07 - 17:41 | 04:43 - 20:48 | 01:43 - 23:48 | Midnight sun | Midnight sun | 03:44 - 21:50 | 05:56 - 19:20 | 07:54 - 17:04 | 09:25 - 13:32 | Polar night | |
| Hammerfest sunrise & sunset 15. of month | Polar night | 08:16 - 15:15 | 05:50 - 17:22 | 04:17 - 20:37 | Midnight sun | Midnight sun | Midnight sun | 03:11 - 21:42 | 05:35 - 19:04 | 07:41 - 16:39 | 09:28 - 12:50 | Polar night | |
| Source: Almanakk for Norge; University of Oslo, 2010. Note: In December and the first week of January, the very low sun in Bodø is blocked by mountains. In mid-July, the sun sets after midnight in Bodø due to daylight saving. In Tromsø, the sun is below the horizon until 15.January, but is blocked by mountains until 21. January. | |||||||||||||
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