Norway fjords weather in mid april advice

[happygrammy100]

thinking of a ta on rc Jewell getting to Southampton on april 20. A p&o leaves for Norway on 4/20 & 4/27. I’d like to see a green Norway rather than brown. Weather wise Is 4/20 too early or is 4/27 a safer bet? Need advice!

[hallasm]

Assuming that the cruise goes to the Norwegian fjords in southern Norway.

April is quite early. I would choose as late a time as possible in April. The days are getting longer and less snow. In April, roads to viewpoints may still be closed by snow.
The average temperature in Norwegian fjords in April for a typical day ranges from a high of 40°F (5°C) to a low of 23 °F (-5 °C). 

Personally, I prefer the beginning of June - still snow in the mountains and a lot of water in the rivers

[BuckeyeMark]

I'll join in the "ask about the weather" thread here ... we'll be there in mid-May.  What's the weather like in the fjords then? How much snow will we see?

[kitkat343]

Please also note the road to Dalsnibba in Geiranger is seasonal, and can't open until after the big avalanche.  Our cruise started on May 19th and we missed it by about 2 or three days.  We also had difficulty scheduling tours in Flam - we visited a goat farm, and the company had to make special arrangements because they don't usually run the tours from the spring farms (the goats apparently move between farms into a summer farm which is where they usually hold goat tours).  So please check with the excursion operators before booking to ensure you can do whatever you want if there's something you have your heart set on. 

 

The weather in late may was generally quite nice, although we were quite unlucky in Bergen and it was miserably cold and rainy but we were told by the ship crew that was an unusually bad day, even for Norway.  The waterfalls were quite full and the crowds were reduced, making things like switching time for troll cars easier based upon weather.

Edited July 15, 2023 by kitkat343

[kaisatsu]

23 hours ago, happygrammy100 said:

I’d like to see a green Norway rather than brown

In April, there’s a good chance it will still be brown. If it’s an early spring, you might get lucky and have the first days of green, but it’s a pretty big gamble. I just skimmed through my phone, and 26 April 2020 I have a photo where everything in my neighborhood is green and leafy, but on 12 April 2021 the trees didn’t even have buds, and it was snowing. If you really want green, I wouldn’t plan a visit before the second week of May.

 

[kaisatsu]

20 hours ago, BuckeyeMark said:

I'll join in the "ask about the weather" thread here ... we'll be there in mid-May.  What's the weather like in the fjords then? How much snow will we see?

“What’s the weather like” is a pretty meaningless question in Norway. We feel lucky when the morning weather forecast turns out to be accurate! 😂

 

Generally speaking, you won’t see snow on the ground at sea level. There will still be snow higher up in the mountains, so you may see snow above you, and if you travel up to higher elevations, you may find snow on the ground, road closures, etc. For example, if you were to do the Flåmsbana-Myrdal-Voss-Gudvangen-Flåm route, you would likely still see heavy snow cover on the Myrdal-Voss train ride.

 

In general, I would expect temperatures between 0°C and 15°C with the chance of reaching 20°C if there’s a warm spell. Planning for wind and rain is essential at my time of the year. Basically, dress in layers and adjust according to conditions. Bring a hat, gloves, and scarf or neck gaiter, because it can be very chilly out on deck when the ship is moving, and it’s not something you want to miss.