Longyearbyen weather in October

In October, Longyearbyen sees average daytime highs of -4°C and overnight lows near -8°C, with 41 mm of precipitation across 9.1 wet days and about 4.4 hours of daylight. It is the 6th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about -2°C in the first days to -7°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in October, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 36 min at the start of October to 0 hours by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, October is Longyearbyen's 12th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Longyearbyen's year-round climate.

Daytime high
-4°
6th warmest
Overnight low
-8°
7th coldest
Precipitation
41 mm
9.1 wet days
Daylight
4 h 54 min
9:16 AM – 2:09 PM
Cloud cover
88%
12th clearest
Wind
10 km/h
6th windiest
Solar energy
0.12 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.

Temperature in October

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about -2°C in the first days to -7°C by the end.

A typical October day in Longyearbyen reaches about -4°C in the afternoon and slips back to -8°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between -10°C and 2°C. Set against its neighbours, October runs about 6°C cooler than September and about 3°C warmer than November.

-20°-15°-10°-5°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1-1-4
2-1-4
3-1-4
4-2-5
5-2-5
6-2-5
7-2-5
8-2-6
9-3-6
10-3-6
11-3-6
12-3-7
13-4-7
14-4-7
15-4-7
16-4-8
17-4-8
18-5-8
19-5-9
20-5-9
21-5-9
22-6-9
23-6-10
24-6-10
25-6-10
26-6-10
27-7-10
28-7-11
29-7-11
30-7-11
31-7-11

How October really feels in Longyearbyen

Once humidity and wind are folded in, October averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 31 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
31
24 feel bitter (≤ -10°C)

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

Longyearbyen weather by month

How October compares with the rest of the year at a glance. October is the 6th-warmest and 5th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysSnow daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan-11° / -16°438.910.900.0
Feb-12° / -16°317.1910.0
Mar-12° / -17°358.410.2100.0
Apr-9° / -13°236.88.719.30.0
May-3° / -5°2167.7240.0
Jun / 1853.7240.0
Jul / 328.21.1240.7
Aug / 4092.222.80.3
Sep / -1°459.85.313.70.0
Oct-4° / -8°419.194.40.0
Nov-7° / -12°4710.312.200.0
Dec-10° / -14°459.711.900.0

Cloud cover in October

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 3% of the time in October, the cloudiest month of the year.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 6% of October, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 92%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
1793
2694
3694
4793
5892
6892
7892
8892
9991
10991
11991
12991
13991
14991
15991
16991
17991
18991
19991
20991
21991
22991
23991
24991
25892
26892
27892
28892
29892
30793
31793

Chance of precipitation in October

Any precipitationSnow

Longyearbyen gets around 41 mm of rain and snow over 9.1 wet days in October. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 30% and peaks near 32% on the wettest days, and about 9 days bring snow.

0%10%20%30%40%50%151015202531
Rain chance (%)Snow chance (%)
13126
23227
33227
43227
53227
63228
73228
83128
93128
103128
113128
123029
133029
143029
153029
162929
172929
182829
192829
202829
212730
222730
232730
242730
252731
262831
272832
282832
292933
302934
313035

Humidity in October

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

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

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in October

Winds average 10 km/h in October.

Across October, daily wind ranges from about 10 km/h on the calmest days to 11 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
110calm
210calm
310calm
410calm
510calm
610calm
710calm
810calm
910calm
1010calm
1110calm
1210calm
1310calm
1410calm
1510calm
1610calm
1710calm
1810calm
1910calm
2010calm
2110calm
2210calm
2310calm
2410calm
2510calm
2611calm
2711calm
2811calm
2911calm
3011calm
3111calm

Sunrise & sunset in October

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min at the start of October to 0 hours by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.66:594:34
29.37:074:25
39.07:154:17
48.87:234:08
58.57:313:59
68.27:393:51
77.97:483:42
87.67:563:32
97.38:053:23
107.08:143:14
116.78:233:04
126.38:332:54
136.08:432:43
145.68:532:32
155.39:042:21
164.99:162:09
174.59:291:56
184.09:421:42
193.59:571:27
202.910:151:09
212.210:3612:47
221.111:0912:14
230.0
240.0
250.0
260.0
270.0
280.0
290.0
300.0
310.0

Solar energy in October

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in October, about 0.12 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 — October's 0.12 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

00.511.52151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
10.4Dim
20.4Dim
30.4Dim
40.3Dim
50.3Dim
60.3Dim
70.3Dim
80.2Dim
90.2Dim
100.2Dim
110.2Dim
120.2Dim
130.1Dim
140.1Dim
150.1Dim
160.1Dim
170.1Dim
180.1Dim
190.1Dim
200.1Dim
210.0Dim
220.0Dim
230.0Dim
240.0Dim
250.0Dim
260.0Dim
270.0Dim
280.0Dim
290.0Dim
300.0Dim
310.0Dim
Planning a trip in October

Is October a good time to visit Longyearbyen?

Our two travel scores rate October 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

October is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Longyearbyen.

What to pack for Longyearbyen in October

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

In October, Longyearbyen sees daytime highs around -4°C and nights near -8°C. Pack a warm layer and a heavy coat. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layera heavy coatrain gear

UV index in Longyearbyen in October

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in October 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.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecLowModerateLowJun 18UV 2Jan 1UV 0
UV index (midday)Level
Jan0Low
Feb0Low
Mar0Low
Apr1Low
May2Low
Jun2Moderate
Jul2Low
Aug2Low
Sep0Low
Oct0Low
Nov0Low
Dec0Low
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
16 km
1,061 m
80 km
1,255 m
grasslandartificial surfacesbare terrainsnow and icewaterwetlandmoss and lichen
October 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).