Norway just experienced its warmest March since records began, according to a new report from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The average temperature was 3.9C above the seasonal norm, comfortably beating the previous record set in 2012 (which was 3.3C above normal).
Usually, temperature records are broken by small margins, but March 2026 was different. The new national record exceeded the old one by 0.6C, a gap that climate scientist Hans Olav Hygen described as "surprising" in a press release.
"The fact that a monthly record for all of Norway is broken by 0.6 degrees is a startling amount," Hygen explained.
Across the country, 111 weather stations reported their warmest March ever, including several stations with over a century of historical data, specifically in Western Norway, Trøndelag, and Northern Norway.
"The classifications show that it was extremely hot in Møre og Romsdal, most of Trøndelag, and Northern Norway," said Jostein Mamen, a climate researcher at the Institute. "In the rest of Southern Norway, the month was mainly very warm."
The heat was especially strong in Sunndalsøra in Møre og Romsdal, which set a new March record with an average of 7.6C (4.7 degrees above normal).
This was followed by other stations in the same county, like Tafjord (7.5C) and Ålesund IV (7.2C), which also saw high temperatures.
Even the country's "coldest" stations remained several degrees above their usual levels.
Gaustatoppen in Telemark recorded -6.1C (2.4C above normal), while Innlandet’s Juvvasshøe and Juvflye saw temperatures of -5.7C and -5.4C respectively, with both sitting more than 3 degrees above their historical norms.
Record rain
However, for many in Norway, the heat was accompanied by heavy grey skies.
Nationwide, precipitation was 20% higher than normal, making it the 15th wettest March since 1901.
However, the experience varied wildly by region.
For example, it was extremely wet in parts of Nordland and Finnmark. Kongsmarka recorded 611.4 mm of rain, 188 percent above its average.
In contrast, the inner parts of Trøndelag and the far north of Innlandet were very dry, with some places getting up to 86 percent less rain than normal.
For many people, the record warmth caused Easter to feel different, and the ski season to end earlier than usual, denoting a clear, sobering shift in the traditional Norwegian winter.
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