Climate averages 1991–2020

Longyearbyen weather
in March.

A freezing month with light precipitation: the coolest and the 6th driest of the year.

Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.

Average high -11.7°C Daytime mean, March

Average low -16.3°C Night-time mean, March

Precipitation 35 mm 8 days with ≥1 mm

Daylight 11 h Sunrise to sunset, per day

March is a freezing month in Longyearbyen: daytime highs average -11.7°C and nights cool to about -16.3°C. By daytime temperature it is the coolest month of the year.

Expect about 35 mm of precipitation on roughly 8 days, which makes March a month with light precipitation (the 6th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 11 h 12 min on an average March day.

From March to April, average highs rise by 3.6°C to -8.1°C, and monthly precipitation falls from 35 mm to 23 mm.

The annual picture

March in context

30-year average

Average highAverage low°C

Monthly precipitation

Average total · mm

Averages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated

Every month, side by side

Longyearbyen climate table

1991–2020

Monthly climate averages for Longyearbyen, 1991–2020
Month	Average highHigh / low	Average low	Precipitation mm/month	Wet days ≥1 mm/day	Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day
January	-11.1°C-15.9°C	-15.9°C	43	8.9	0.00 h, polar night: no sunrise
February	-11.6°C-16.3°C	-16.3°C	31	7.2	2.02 h
March, selected	-11.7°C-16.3°C	-16.3°C	35	8.4	11.211 h
April	-8.1°C-12.3°C	-12.3°C	23	6.8	20.520 h
May	-1.6°C-4.5°C	-4.5°C	21	6.0	24.024 h, midnight sun: no sunset
June	3.3°C1.6°C	1.6°C	17	5.0	24.024 h, midnight sun: no sunset
July	8.1°C5.3°C	5.3°C	32	8.2	24.024 h, midnight sun: no sunset
August	6.8°C3.9°C	3.9°C	40	9.0	23.423 h
September	2.4°C-0.8°C	-0.8°C	45	9.8	14.715 h
October	-4.0°C-8.0°C	-8.0°C	41	9.1	6.06 h
November	-6.8°C-11.6°C	-11.6°C	47	10.3	0.00 h, polar night: no sunrise
December	-9.6°C-14.4°C	-14.4°C	45	9.7	0.00 h, polar night: no sunrise

Precipitation (rain or snow, as water) is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A wet day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.

Read the numbers correctly

Climate, not a promise.

These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.

Sources, method and limits

How these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Longyearbyen) is explained once on the Longyearbyen year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.