Longyearbyen weather in February

In February, Longyearbyen sees average daytime highs of -12°C and overnight lows near -16°C, with 31 mm of precipitation across 7.1 wet days and about 1 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 9th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -12°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in February, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 0 hours at the start of February to 5 h 18 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, February is Longyearbyen's 7th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Longyearbyen's year-round climate.

Daytime high: -12°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: -16°; 2nd coldest
Precipitation: 31 mm; 7.1 wet days
Daylight: 0 hours; — – —
Cloud cover: 85%; 7th clearest
Wind: 12 km/h; 3rd windiest
Solar energy: 0.02 kWh/m²
Travel score: 0.0; out of 10

Longyearbyen is town and administrative centre in Svalbard, Norway.

Density: 10/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1906

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

← January Longyearbyen year-round climate March →Best places to visit in February

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in February

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near -12°C through the month.

A typical February day in Longyearbyen reaches about -12°C in the afternoon and slips back to -16°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -22°C and -2°C. Set against its neighbours, February runs on par with January and on par with March.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Avg high (°C)	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12	-12
Avg low (°C)	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-16	-17	-17	-17	-17	-17	-17	-17	-17

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	-12	-16
2	-12	-16
3	-12	-16
4	-12	-16
5	-12	-16
6	-12	-16
7	-12	-16
8	-12	-16
9	-12	-16
10	-12	-16
11	-12	-16
12	-12	-16
13	-12	-16
14	-12	-16
15	-12	-16
16	-12	-16
17	-12	-16
18	-12	-16
19	-12	-16
20	-12	-16
21	-12	-17
22	-12	-17
23	-12	-17
24	-12	-17
25	-12	-17
26	-12	-17
27	-12	-17
28	-12	-17

How February really feels in Longyearbyen

Once humidity and wind are folded in, February averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 28 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

28 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

The story in February is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Longyearbyen weather by month

How February compares with the rest of the year at a glance. February is the 11th-warmest and 9th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	-11° / -16°	43	8.9	10.9	0	0.0
Feb	-12° / -16°	31	7.1	9	1	0.0
Mar	-12° / -17°	35	8.4	10.2	10	0.0
Apr	-9° / -13°	23	6.8	8.7	19.3	0.0
May	-3° / -5°	21	6	7.7	24	0.0
Jun	2° / 1°	18	5	3.7	24	0.0
Jul	7° / 4°	32	8.2	1.1	24	0.7
Aug	5° / 3°	40	9	2.2	22.8	0.3
Sep	1° / -1°	45	9.8	5.3	13.7	0.0
Oct	-4° / -8°	41	9.1	9	4.4	0.0
Nov	-7° / -12°	47	10.3	12.2	0	0.0
Dec	-10° / -14°	45	9.7	11.9	0	0.0

Cloud cover in February

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in February.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 11% of February, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 86%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Clearer (%)	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	13	14	14	14	13	13	14	14	14	14	13	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15
Cloudier (%)	86	85	85	85	85	85	85	85	87	86	86	86	87	87	86	86	86	86	87	86	86	86	86	85	85	85	85	85

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	14	86
2	15	85
3	15	85
4	15	85
5	15	85
6	15	85
7	15	85
8	15	85
9	13	87
10	14	86
11	14	86
12	14	86
13	13	87
14	13	87
15	14	86
16	14	86
17	14	86
18	14	86
19	13	87
20	14	86
21	14	86
22	14	86
23	14	86
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	15	85

Chance of precipitation in February

Any precipitationSnow

Longyearbyen gets around 31 mm of rain and snow over 7.1 wet days in February. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 26% and peaks near 28% on the wettest days, and about 9 days bring snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Rain chance (%)	24	24	25	25	26	27	27	27	27	27	27	28	27	27	27	27	27	26	25	25	25	24	24	25	25	25	26	26
Snow chance (%)	30	30	30	31	32	32	33	33	33	34	34	34	34	35	35	35	34	34	33	33	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	33

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	30
2	24	30
3	25	30
4	25	31
5	26	32
6	27	32
7	27	33
8	27	33
9	27	33
10	27	34
11	27	34
12	28	34
13	27	34
14	27	35
15	27	35
16	27	35
17	27	34
18	26	34
19	25	33
20	25	33
21	25	32
22	24	32
23	24	32
24	25	32
25	25	32
26	25	32
27	26	32
28	26	33

Humidity in February

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of February feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, February lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100

Wind in February

Winds average 12 km/h in February.

Across February, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Wind speed (km/h)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Feels	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm	calm

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	12	calm
2	12	calm
3	12	calm
4	12	calm
5	12	calm
6	12	calm
7	12	calm
8	12	calm
9	12	calm
10	11	calm
11	11	calm
12	11	calm
13	11	calm
14	11	calm
15	11	calm
16	11	calm
17	11	calm
18	11	calm
19	11	calm
20	11	calm
21	11	calm
22	11	calm
23	11	calm
24	11	calm
25	11	calm
26	11	calm
27	11	calm
28	11	calm

Sunrise & sunset in February

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 0 hours at the start of February to 5 h 18 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Daylight (h)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.1	2.2	2.9	3.5	4.0	4.5	4.9	5.3
Sunrise (AM)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	11:39	11:06	10:44	10:27	10:11	9:57	9:45	9:33
Sunset (PM)	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12:44	1:17	1:39	1:56	2:11	2:25	2:37	2:49

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	0.0	—	—
2	0.0	—	—
3	0.0	—	—
4	0.0	—	—
5	0.0	—	—
6	0.0	—	—
7	0.0	—	—
8	0.0	—	—
9	0.0	—	—
10	0.0	—	—
11	0.0	—	—
12	0.0	—	—
13	0.0	—	—
14	0.0	—	—
15	0.0	—	—
16	0.0	—	—
17	0.0	—	—
18	0.0	—	—
19	0.0	—	—
20	0.0	—	—
21	1.1	11:39	12:44
22	2.2	11:06	1:17
23	2.9	10:44	1:39
24	3.5	10:27	1:56
25	4.0	10:11	2:11
26	4.5	9:57	2:25
27	4.9	9:45	2:37
28	5.3	9:33	2:49

Solar energy in February

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in February, about 0.02 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 0 kWh/m² to a high of 5.97 kWh/m² in June across the year — February's 0.02 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2
Level	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	0.0	Dim
2	0.0	Dim
3	0.0	Dim
4	0.0	Dim
5	0.0	Dim
6	0.0	Dim
7	0.0	Dim
8	0.0	Dim
9	0.0	Dim
10	0.0	Dim
11	0.0	Dim
12	0.0	Dim
13	0.0	Dim
14	0.0	Dim
15	0.0	Dim
16	0.0	Dim
17	0.0	Dim
18	0.0	Dim
19	0.0	Dim
20	0.1	Dim
21	0.1	Dim
22	0.1	Dim
23	0.1	Dim
24	0.1	Dim
25	0.1	Dim
26	0.1	Dim
27	0.2	Dim
28	0.2	Dim

Planning a trip in February

Is February a good time to visit Longyearbyen?

Our two travel scores rate February for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

0.0

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

—

Beach & pool

never really warm enough

February is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Longyearbyen.

What to pack for Longyearbyen in February

From February's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In February, Longyearbyen sees daytime highs around -12°C and nights near -16°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. About 7 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coat

UV index in Longyearbyen in February

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in February peaks around 0. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Longyearbyen peaks around June 18 at about 2 (moderate) — sun protection is rarely needed. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 0 (low).

The midday index never reaches 3, the level where the WHO starts recommending sun protection.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	0	0	0	1	2	2	2	2	0	0	0	0
Level	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	0	Low
Feb	0	Low
Mar	0	Low
Apr	1	Low
May	2	Low
Jun	2	Moderate
Jul	2	Low
Aug	2	Low
Sep	0	Low
Oct	0	Low
Nov	0	Low
Dec	0	Low

Location & terrain

Where is Longyearbyen?

Longyearbyen sits at 78.2°N, 15.6°E, 1 m above sea level, in Svalbard and Jan Mayen. The nearest listed city is Alta, 945 km away.

Topography around Longyearbyen

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Longyearbyen.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Longyearbyen has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 485 m around an average of 113 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,061 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,255 m.

The land around Longyearbyen is covered by water (35%), bare terrain (30%) and moss and lichen (27%) within 3 km, bare terrain (31%), water (29%) and moss and lichen (22%) within 16 km, and snow and ice (30%), water (29%) and bare terrain (26%) within 80 km.

3 km

485 m

water 35%

16 km

1,061 m

bare terrain 31%

80 km

1,255 m

snow and ice 30%

grasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewaterwetlandmoss and lichen

← January Longyearbyen year-round climate March →Best places to visit in February

February weather nearby: Alta 945 km · Tromso 958 km · Tromsdalen 959 km · Harstad 1,048 km · Nikel 1,071 km · Zapolyarnyy 1,077 km · Lofoten 1,111 km · Polyarnyy 1,135 km

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Longyearbyen (78.2233°, 15.6469°, elevation 1 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	-12	-16
2	-12	-16
3	-12	-16
4	-12	-16
5	-12	-16
6	-12	-16
7	-12	-16
8	-12	-16
9	-12	-16
10	-12	-16
11	-12	-16
12	-12	-16
13	-12	-16
14	-12	-16
15	-12	-16
16	-12	-16
17	-12	-16
18	-12	-16
19	-12	-16
20	-12	-16
21	-12	-17
22	-12	-17
23	-12	-17
24	-12	-17
25	-12	-17
26	-12	-17
27	-12	-17
28	-12	-17

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	14	86
2	15	85
3	15	85
4	15	85
5	15	85
6	15	85
7	15	85
8	15	85
9	13	87
10	14	86
11	14	86
12	14	86
13	13	87
14	13	87
15	14	86
16	14	86
17	14	86
18	14	86
19	13	87
20	14	86
21	14	86
22	14	86
23	14	86
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	15	85

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	30
2	24	30
3	25	30
4	25	31
5	26	32
6	27	32
7	27	33
8	27	33
9	27	33
10	27	34
11	27	34
12	28	34
13	27	34
14	27	35
15	27	35
16	27	35
17	27	34
18	26	34
19	25	33
20	25	33
21	25	32
22	24	32
23	24	32
24	25	32
25	25	32
26	25	32
27	26	32
28	26	33

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	0.0	Dim
2	0.0	Dim
3	0.0	Dim
4	0.0	Dim
5	0.0	Dim
6	0.0	Dim
7	0.0	Dim
8	0.0	Dim
9	0.0	Dim
10	0.0	Dim
11	0.0	Dim
12	0.0	Dim
13	0.0	Dim
14	0.0	Dim
15	0.0	Dim
16	0.0	Dim
17	0.0	Dim
18	0.0	Dim
19	0.0	Dim
20	0.1	Dim
21	0.1	Dim
22	0.1	Dim
23	0.1	Dim
24	0.1	Dim
25	0.1	Dim
26	0.1	Dim
27	0.2	Dim
28	0.2	Dim

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	-12	-16
2	-12	-16
3	-12	-16
4	-12	-16
5	-12	-16
6	-12	-16
7	-12	-16
8	-12	-16
9	-12	-16
10	-12	-16
11	-12	-16
12	-12	-16
13	-12	-16
14	-12	-16
15	-12	-16
16	-12	-16
17	-12	-16
18	-12	-16
19	-12	-16
20	-12	-16
21	-12	-17
22	-12	-17
23	-12	-17
24	-12	-17
25	-12	-17
26	-12	-17
27	-12	-17
28	-12	-17

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	14	86
2	15	85
3	15	85
4	15	85
5	15	85
6	15	85
7	15	85
8	15	85
9	13	87
10	14	86
11	14	86
12	14	86
13	13	87
14	13	87
15	14	86
16	14	86
17	14	86
18	14	86
19	13	87
20	14	86
21	14	86
22	14	86
23	14	86
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	15	85

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	30
2	24	30
3	25	30
4	25	31
5	26	32
6	27	32
7	27	33
8	27	33
9	27	33
10	27	34
11	27	34
12	28	34
13	27	34
14	27	35
15	27	35
16	27	35
17	27	34
18	26	34
19	25	33
20	25	33
21	25	32
22	24	32
23	24	32
24	25	32
25	25	32
26	25	32
27	26	32
28	26	33

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	0.0	Dim
2	0.0	Dim
3	0.0	Dim
4	0.0	Dim
5	0.0	Dim
6	0.0	Dim
7	0.0	Dim
8	0.0	Dim
9	0.0	Dim
10	0.0	Dim
11	0.0	Dim
12	0.0	Dim
13	0.0	Dim
14	0.0	Dim
15	0.0	Dim
16	0.0	Dim
17	0.0	Dim
18	0.0	Dim
19	0.0	Dim
20	0.1	Dim
21	0.1	Dim
22	0.1	Dim
23	0.1	Dim
24	0.1	Dim
25	0.1	Dim
26	0.1	Dim
27	0.2	Dim
28	0.2	Dim

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	-12	-16
2	-12	-16
3	-12	-16
4	-12	-16
5	-12	-16
6	-12	-16
7	-12	-16
8	-12	-16
9	-12	-16
10	-12	-16
11	-12	-16
12	-12	-16
13	-12	-16
14	-12	-16
15	-12	-16
16	-12	-16
17	-12	-16
18	-12	-16
19	-12	-16
20	-12	-16
21	-12	-17
22	-12	-17
23	-12	-17
24	-12	-17
25	-12	-17
26	-12	-17
27	-12	-17
28	-12	-17

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	14	86
2	15	85
3	15	85
4	15	85
5	15	85
6	15	85
7	15	85
8	15	85
9	13	87
10	14	86
11	14	86
12	14	86
13	13	87
14	13	87
15	14	86
16	14	86
17	14	86
18	14	86
19	13	87
20	14	86
21	14	86
22	14	86
23	14	86
24	15	85
25	15	85
26	15	85
27	15	85
28	15	85

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	24	30
2	24	30
3	25	30
4	25	31
5	26	32
6	27	32
7	27	33
8	27	33
9	27	33
10	27	34
11	27	34
12	28	34
13	27	34
14	27	35
15	27	35
16	27	35
17	27	34
18	26	34
19	25	33
20	25	33
21	25	32
22	24	32
23	24	32
24	25	32
25	25	32
26	25	32
27	26	32
28	26	33

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	0.0	Dim
2	0.0	Dim
3	0.0	Dim
4	0.0	Dim
5	0.0	Dim
6	0.0	Dim
7	0.0	Dim
8	0.0	Dim
9	0.0	Dim
10	0.0	Dim
11	0.0	Dim
12	0.0	Dim
13	0.0	Dim
14	0.0	Dim
15	0.0	Dim
16	0.0	Dim
17	0.0	Dim
18	0.0	Dim
19	0.0	Dim
20	0.1	Dim
21	0.1	Dim
22	0.1	Dim
23	0.1	Dim
24	0.1	Dim
25	0.1	Dim
26	0.1	Dim
27	0.2	Dim
28	0.2	Dim