I love April in Norway. It feels like spring is coming! No wait, it’s snowing again. What, now it’s +20 degrees Celsius? Oh, now there’s a storm rolling in. And it’s snowing again. April in Norway is a mixed bag that will keep you on your toes, and I love it.
The Weather
Temperatures
| 2020 High | 2020 Low | 2020 Average | Normal Average | Deviance | |
| Oslo | +21.9C (22 April) | -2.7C (4 April) | +7.3C | -4.5C | + 2.8C |
| Bergen | +20.4C (22 April) | -1.5C (4 April) | +7.2C | +5.9C | + 1.3C |
| Tromsø | +6.5C (8 April) | -12.9C (3 April) | -0.1C | +0.7C | 0.7C |
Precipitation, Snow & Wind
| Wettest Day | Total Precipitation | Normal | Days with Precipitation | Snow Days | Highest Wind Gust | |
| Oslo | 28 April (16.4mm) | 32.3mm | 41mm | 3 | 0 | 23.2 m/s |
| Bergen | 15 April (36.8mm) | 175.3mm | 114mm | 13 | 2 (max depth 3cm) | 23.5 m/s (3 April) |
| Tromsø | 6 April (18.5mm) | 131.1mm | 61mm | 19 | Every day. Max. depth 100cm | 20.8 m/s (8 April) |
Sunrise/Sunset
| 1 April Sunrise/Sunset | 1 April Day Length | 10 April Sunrise/Sunset | 10 April Day Length | 20 April Sunrise/Sunset | 20 April Day Length | 30 April Sunrise/Sunset (Note: Daylight Savings) | 30 April Day Length | |
| Oslo | 6:41am / 8:01pm | 13:20:15 | 6:14am / 8:23pm | 14:09:06 | 5:45am / 8:48pm | 15:02:57 | 5:17am / 8:12pm | 15:55:44 |
| Bergen | 7:02am / 8:24pm | 13:21:52 | 6:34am / 8:46pm | 14:11:44 | 6:05am / 9:11pm | 15:06:46 | 5:36am / 9:37pm | 16:00:50 |
| Tromsø | 5:46am / 7:51pm | 14:04:32 | 5:04am / 8:28pm | 15:23:58 | 4:16am / 9:13pm | 16:56:50 | 3:24am / 10:02pm | 18:38:57 |
Notes: From the beginning of April Tromsø receives no true darkness
Weather Overview
April is a bit of everything. Want snow? Want hot sunny days? Want hurricane-like storms? April in Norway is the month for you!
The weather is generally very unpredictable. In Bergen this year I was wearing winter coats, rain coats, and t-shirts on my daily walk. Some years April can be very mild and sunny, while others can be very cold and snowy. Yes, the snow may creep up on us in April. This year in Bergen, it was one our snowiest months, though the snow melted very quickly.
Storms are also common in April. I personally love watching the storms, but I’m not sure people travel here to see them!
At the start of the month, the nights are dark enough to see last glimpses of the northern lights. By the end of the month, however, there’s barely a proper darkness.
April is the month of sunsets. What to see an incredible sunset? Come in April!
Northern Lights
If you are lucky, you may see the northern lights in early April. It’s possible, but the nights are shorter.
Food
April is normally the month of Easter, so many restaurants will reflect this with an abundance of lamb dishes. In the supermarkets you’ll be able to buy lots of Norwegian Easter Eggs.
Tourism
April in Norway is one of the quietest months for tourism because it’s between two seasons: winter tourism has ended, but summer tourism doesn’t begin for another month.
The museums and attractions have their winter hours in April, which means reduced days and hours. The major museums will be open 10am-4pm (or 11am-3pm), while the smaller ones will be open for even less hours, or only on weekends.
Cruise ships do appear in Bergen occasionally, so the signs of summer are coming.
I think April is a great month to travel. You’ll get long enough days to explore, but there’ll still be snow on the mountains. It won’t be as cold as in winter, but the temperatures won’t be sweltering hot yet.
Events
Easter
It’s Easter in Norway in April! During Easter, Norwegian’s get the longest holiday period in the world. Most will use this as a chance to get one last ski trip in before the snow melts, and they’ll head to their cabin in the mountains. There aren’t really any events that take place during Easter; most people leave to do their own thing.
I’ll cover Easter in a separate article.