After many years of not going to Norway during winter, my wish to return came true! I will stay in Arendal, Aust Agder till 4 January 2008 and I hope I am going to see some snow...although I don't think so... It has already snowed in Thessaloniki, whereas in South Norway they are still waiting!
I arrived on Friday night in Kristiansand, Vest Agder, where the temperature was really low. But it had already been cold in South Norway during last week with temperatures being around -11oC...-4oC during the day! So, while driving to Arendal (~65km East of Kristiansand) the max temperature I met was -3oC and the min -11,5oC*, while some fog-clouds were appearing in the sky!
But low temperature was not the only interesting during last week, when I was not in Norway. The weather was also dizzy and dense fog had been covering many areas in South Norway for many hours everyday. So, thick rime was formed and covered all surfaces, just as everything looks like after a snowfall! My grandmother described to me, the way the sun was shining through the fog one day, something that made the tiny ice crystals glow and she said that it was like watching small diamonds falling down from the sky! I’m almost sure that an optical phenomenon like parhelia must have been seen. Something else that was formed because of the really low temperatures was thick ice on the sea surface!
When I finally arrived in Arendal, the temperature was as low as -7,5oC and the sky was clear. Here are some photos I took showing the rime, just after my arrival!
Everything was frost.
The little neighborhood, where I stay every time I come to Norway
A frozen tree 
In the garden 
The ground, covered of rime 
A new, white day has just started. Everything looks like it had been snowing!
The island Tromøy to the right and the bridge, Tromøybrua can also be seen
In Arendal centre the sea is frozen and some birds are just walking on the ice 
Rime seen on the grass
White houses and trees
The small island, Hisøy... 
...and Tromøy 
Some icicles back of some trees
Beautiful rime formations 
The sea covered by ice with Tromøy in the background 
Really fascinating forest on Tromøy 
Another close-up rime formation 
Everything is white 
But the things got worse during Saturday. When it was getting darker, instead of getting colder the temperature continued to rise and finally reached +0,3 at midnight with some fog covering the area! So...all these fascinating landscapes are gone now and the ice has melt...
The temperature finally reached +2,7oC Sunday 05:55 and when I woke up at ~11:00 the sun had just risen up and I noticed that the temperature had fallen to ~1oC...I supposed, that the temperature felt because the sky was cloudless now... However, even during afternoon, when the sun was shining the temperature was still falling above 0oC, something that made everything wet, frost and the streets quite dangerous. The temperature stopped at -3,4oC at 22.50 and frost-smokes (as they say in Norway) appeared over many areas, because of the cold surfaces.
PHOTO
Christmas day for Norway is 24/12 and Monday's min was -3,1oC at 00:30, but the temperature soon started to rise again till the max was marked at 17:40 with 5oC. Christmas was windy with some drizzles. Nothing interesting...
So, Tuesday 25/12 had also some strange temperature changes. At midnight the temperature was +3,3oC, but a temperature drop was followed till 05:55 with -1oC. So, began a temperature-rise...again and I noticed, that it started raining at 09:35 with the temperature at +0,2oC!
It was snowing last Saturday in Thessaloniki with +3oC and it's raining in Norway with just +0,2oC!?*
And finally, the max of the day was +5,2oC at 21:30…
Wednesday started with cloudy weather and +4,1oC at midnight. So, the min followed at 04:50, which was +0,4oC, but the temperature after that didn’t rise that much, maybe because of the clear sky and the temperature was around +1oC the whole afternoon. But the temperature began to irritate me again by rising to +4,7oC at 23:10, while the sky was getting mostly cloudy and this was also the max of the day…
And I thought the max temperature is during daylight…
**Well, I can refer some differences I noticed between the weather in Norway and Greece.
Although the temperature in Norway were really low and even -11oC, I can't say, that I was freezing. I felt those -11oC in Norway like -1oC in Greece! When it's cold in Greece, it's awful cold, even when the temperature is not under 0oC! I feel my hands, my ears hurt and my nose really cold, which always gets red and when it's windy it's much worse! The wind is just getting through your clothes, something that didn't happen in Norway. I could easily keep myself warm only by wearing a coat!
Something else I noticed in Norway is the combination between the temperature and the snowfalls. Last Saturday Thessaloniki, Greece was experiencing severe snowfalls with temperatures during night and day above 0oC! The min was +0,7oC and the max +3,4oC! The snow didn't cover the ground, but it was snowing! It started raining only in South Thessaloniki, when the temperature was as high as +4oC and the humidity as high as 97%, whereas it was snowing at the same time in north Thessaloniki with +2oC! It has snowed in Greece many times, while the temperature was above 0oC!
However, I have noticed that it hardly snows in Norway even if the temperature is 0oC or even just below 0oC... For example, on Tuesday morning the temperature was +0,2oC and I was surprised to see, that it was raining! I remember when I was younger, the same thing happening....
I can't explain why this is happening, but I suppose it has to do with the temperature in higher altitudes.... But logically, the temperature should be lower in Norway and not in Greece, right?
Well, I hope I didn't was tiring for you to read all this.
I will write again, if............I see any snow, or anything else interesting....
I wish you happy holidays and a happy new year!
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