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Santa's North Pole Weather
December 19, 2024 at 10:40 AM EST
By WeatherBug's Intern Meteorologist, Christopher Smith
Christmas is quickly approaching, and Santa will be on his way. Have you ever wondered what type of weather Santa experiences before venturing out Christmas Eve? Let’s look at the climate of the North Pole.
A well-known fact is that the North Pole is cold. However, it may not be known exactly why the North Pole is so cold. The reason for the chill is a lack of direct sunlight throughout the year and especially during winter. Due to the shape of the Earth, the sun is always low on the horizon at the poles. The sun’s rays have to travel a far distance to reach the surface, limiting the energy that can warm the surface.
As you may have guessed, winter is the coldest time of the year at the North Pole as the sun doesn’t rise for months. The average winter temperature is a bone-chilling 40 degrees below zero in the North Pole! Even during the summer, the average temperature sits right around freezing at 32 degrees.
During the winter, sea ice expands to over 5 million square miles, over the size of the United States! On top of the ice can also be a foot of snow, making for quite the wintry landscape.
Even though the North Pole is cold, the South Pole is much colder. Given the South Pole is surrounded by land on the continent of Antarctica, the air can cool much faster than the North Pole which is surrounded by water. The average winter temperature at the South Pole is 76 degrees below zero and even in the summer the average temperature is still 18 degrees below zero!
Santa Claus will be enjoying much warmer weather than the North Pole as presents are delivered all over the globe, including in the tropics in just a few days.
Sources: climatekids.nasa.gov, atmos.washington.edu, nsidc.org
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Story Image: Arctic Ice seen with pressure ridges seen along a dog sled trip to the North Pole on April 1, 2007 (Collection of Dr. Pablo Clemente-Colon, Chief Scientist National Ice Center/NOAA Photo Library).
A well-known fact is that the North Pole is cold. However, it may not be known exactly why the North Pole is so cold. The reason for the chill is a lack of direct sunlight throughout the year and especially during winter. Due to the shape of the Earth, the sun is always low on the horizon at the poles. The sun’s rays have to travel a far distance to reach the surface, limiting the energy that can warm the surface.
As you may have guessed, winter is the coldest time of the year at the North Pole as the sun doesn’t rise for months. The average winter temperature is a bone-chilling 40 degrees below zero in the North Pole! Even during the summer, the average temperature sits right around freezing at 32 degrees.
During the winter, sea ice expands to over 5 million square miles, over the size of the United States! On top of the ice can also be a foot of snow, making for quite the wintry landscape.
Even though the North Pole is cold, the South Pole is much colder. Given the South Pole is surrounded by land on the continent of Antarctica, the air can cool much faster than the North Pole which is surrounded by water. The average winter temperature at the South Pole is 76 degrees below zero and even in the summer the average temperature is still 18 degrees below zero!
Santa Claus will be enjoying much warmer weather than the North Pole as presents are delivered all over the globe, including in the tropics in just a few days.
Sources: climatekids.nasa.gov, atmos.washington.edu, nsidc.org
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Story Image: Arctic Ice seen with pressure ridges seen along a dog sled trip to the North Pole on April 1, 2007 (Collection of Dr. Pablo Clemente-Colon, Chief Scientist National Ice Center/NOAA Photo Library).