Just one week to go

Went out today and bought a lot of warm clothing in Dunnes, as Tromsø (the furthest North we are travelling) is 200 miles or so above the Arctic Circle. This evening I checked the weather for Tromsø for the first time. Quite surprised to find that the current maximum day time temperature is around 10-13 degrees C - and not much less at night! Apparently the Gulf Stream keeps it warmer than it would otherwise be. So it isn't much different from the weather here in Northern Ireland. Anyone want to buy some good unused thermal clothing?

Info on Tromsø as taken from Wikipedia is:

Climate
Tromsø has a reputation in Norway for getting a lot of snow in the winter, although this varies a lot from one year to the next. The all-time record was set 29 April 1997, when the meteorological station on top of Tromsøya recorded 240 centimetres (94.5 in) of snow. The lowest temperature ever recorded is −18.4 °C (−1 °F), and the January average is a mere −4 °C (24.8 °F). This is due to the warming effects of the North Atlantic Current, an extension of the Gulf Stream. The proximity to the sea moderates temperatures; Sommarøy, on the west coast of Kvaløya, has January average of −1.9 °C (29 °F). Summer is rather cool, with a 24 July-hour average of 12 °C (53.6 °F); daytime temperatures are usually slightly warmer, but vary from 9 °C (48.2 °F) to 25 °C (77.0 °F). The summer of 1972, which is the warmest in the record, had a mean temperature of 12.9 °C (55.2 °F) and the highest temperature reached was 30 °C (86.0 °F) ([1]). The warmest year on record is 2005, with a mean temperature of 4.38 °C (39.88 °F), compared to the current annual average of about 3.5 °C (38.3 °F).[16]


Light and darkness
The midnight sun is above the northern horizon from about 18 May to 26 July, although the mountains in the north block the view to the midnight sun a few days, meaning that one can see the sun from about 21 May to 21 July. Due to Tromsø's position near the top of the globe, twilight is longer, meaning there is no real darkness between late April and mid August.

The sun remains below the horizon from about 26 November to 15 January, but due to the mountains the sun is absent from the center from 21 November to 21 January. The return of the sun is an occasion for celebration. Due to the twilight, there is some daylight for a couple of hours even around midwinter, often with beautiful bluish light. The nights shorten quickly, and by 21 February the sun is above the horizon from 07:45 to 16:10, and 1 April from 05:50 to 19:50 (summertime).

The combination of snow cover and sunshine often creates intense light conditions from late February until the snow melts in the lowland (usually late April), and sunglasses are essential when skiing. Because of these diametrically different light conditions in winter, Norwegians often divide it into two seasons: Mørketid (the dark time) and Seinvinter (late winter).

Tromsø is in the middle of the Aurora Borealis (northern lights) zone, and is in fact one of the best places in the world to observe this phenomenon. Because of the planet's rotation, Tromsø moves into the aurora zone around 6 pm, and moves out again around midnight. Due to the light, no aurora is visible between late April and mid August.

Wish I'd read all this before today's shopping trip!