Editing Troms (section)

==Geography==
[[File:Fjord bei Tromsö n.JPG|thumb|left|Balsfjord in central Troms]]
[[File:Fylkesvei 292, Piggtinden.JPG|thumb|right|The 1505 m / 5000 ft ''Piggtind'' in the Lyngen Alps, at the intersection of Tromsø, Balsfjord and Storfjord municipalities. February 2009.]]
Troms is located in the northern part of the [[Scandinavian Peninsula]]. Due to the long distance to the more densely populated areas of the continent, this is one of the least [[pollution|polluted]] areas of Europe. Troms has a very rugged and indented coastline facing the [[Norwegian Sea]]. However, the large and mountainous [[island]]s along the coast provide an excellent sheltered [[waterway]] on the inside. Starting in the south, the largest islands are: northeastern part of [[Hinnøya]] (the southern part is in Nordland), [[Grytøya]], [[Senja]], [[Kvaløya (Tromsø)|Kvaløya]], [[Ringvassøya]], [[Reinøya (Troms)|Reinøy]], [[Vanna (Troms)|Vanna]], and [[Arnøy]]. Some of these islands, most noteworthy Senja, have a rugged outer coast with steep mountains, and a more calm eastern shore. There are several large [[fjord]]s that stretch quite far inland. Starting in the south, the largest fjords are [[Vågsfjorden, Troms|Vågsfjorden]], [[Andfjorden]] (partially in [[Nordland]] county), [[Malangen (fjord)|Malangen]], [[Balsfjorden]], [[Ullsfjorden]], [[Lyngen (fjord)|Lyngen]], and [[Kvænangen (fjord)|Kvænangen]]. The largest lake is [[Altevatnet]] in the interior of the county.

[[File:Balsfjorden & Jiehkkevárri.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Jiekkevarre]] reaching more than 1,800 m / {{convert|6000|ft|2|abbr=on}} high from [[Balsfjord Municipality]]; February 2009.]]
There are mountains in all parts of Troms; the most alpine and striking are probably the [[Lyngen Alps]] (''Lyngsalpene''), with several small [[glacier]]s and the highest mountain in the county, [[Jiekkevarre]] with a height of {{convert|1833|m|abbr=on}}. Several glaciers are located in [[Kvænangen Municipality]], including parts of the [[Øksfjordjøkelen]], the last glacier in mainland Norway to drop icebergs directly into the sea (in the [[Jøkelfjord]]). The largest river in Troms (waterflow) is [[Målselva]] (in [[Målselv Municipality]]), and the largest (not the highest) waterfall is [[Målselvfossen]] at {{convert|600|m|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|20|m|abbr=on}} high. Marble is present in parts of Troms, and thus numerous [[cave]]s, as in [[Salangen Municipality]] and [[Tjeldsund Municipality]].

===Climate===
[[File:Musvaer troms norway.jpg|thumb|left|Musvær; islands north of Kvaløya. The coast has fairly mild winters but cool summer days.]]
Located at a latitude of nearly 70°N, Troms has short, cool summers, but fairly mild winters along the coast due to the temperate sea; [[Torsvåg Lighthouse]] in [[Karlsøy Municipality]] has January 24-hr average of {{convert|-1|C}}. Tromsø averages {{convert|-4|C}} in January with a daily high of {{convert|-2|C}}, while July averages {{convert|12|C}} with high of {{convert|15|C}}. Temperatures are typically below freezing for about 5&nbsp;months (8&nbsp;months in the mountains), from early November to the beginning of April, but coastal areas are moderated by the sea: with more than 130&nbsp;years of official weather recordings, the coldest winter temperature ever recorded in Tromsø is {{convert|-20.1|C}} in February 1985.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.yr.no/nyheter/1.6479678 |title=Yr coldest recordings in February |access-date=2010-02-16 |archive-date=2014-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407070453/http://www.yr.no/nyheter/1.6479678 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The all-time high for Troms is {{convert|33.5|C}} recorded in [[Bardufoss]] 18 July 2018. Thaws can occur even in mid-winter. There is often snow in abundance, and [[avalanche]]s were not uncommon in winter. With the prevailing westerlies, lowland areas east of mountain ranges have less precipitation than areas west of the mountains.

[[Skibotn]] (elevation: {{convert|46|m|abbr=on|disp=or}}) in [[Storfjord Municipality]] is the location in Norway which has recorded the most days per year with clear skies (no clouds). Winter temperatures in [[Målselv Municipality]] and [[Bardu Municipality]] can get down to {{convert|-35|C}}, while summer days can reach {{convert|30|C}} in inland valleys and the innermost fjord areas, but {{convert|15|to|22|C|F}} is much more common. Along the outer seaboard, a summer day at {{convert|15|C}} is considered fairly warm.

{{Weather box 
|metric first= yes
|single line = yes
|location = [[Tromsø]], Troms county, Norway 1961-1990
<!-- Average high temperatures -->
|Jan high C=-2.2
|Feb high C=-2.1
|Mar high C=-0.4
|Apr high C=2.7
|May high C=7.5
|Jun high C=12.5
|Jul high C=15.3
|Aug high C=13.9
|Sep high C=9.3
|Oct high C=4.7
|Nov high C=0.7
|Dec high C=-1.3
|year high C=5.1
<!-- Mean daily temperature -->
|Jan mean C=-4.4
|Feb mean C=-4.2
|Mar mean C=-2.7
|Apr mean C=0.3
|May mean C=4.8
|Jun mean C=9.1
|Jul mean C=11.8
|Aug mean C=10.8
|Sep mean C=6.7
|Oct mean C=2.7
|Nov mean C=-1.1
|Dec mean C=-3.3
|year mean C=2.5
<!-- Average low temperatures -->
|Jan low C=-6.5
|Feb low C=-6.5
|Mar low C=-5.1
|Apr low C=-2.3
|May low C=2.0
|Jun low C=6.1
|Jul low C=8.7
|Aug low C=7.8
|Sep low C=4.5
|Oct low C=0.7
|Nov low C=-3.0
|Dec low C=-5.4
|year low C=0.1
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm=95
|Feb precipitation mm=87
|Mar precipitation mm=72
|Apr precipitation mm=64
|May precipitation mm=48
|Jun precipitation mm=59
|Jul precipitation mm=77
|Aug precipitation mm=82
|Sep precipitation mm=102
|Oct precipitation mm=131
|Nov precipitation mm=108
|Dec precipitation mm=106
|year precipitation mm=1031
<!-- Average number of precipitation days -->
|unit precipitation days= 1 mm
|Jan precipitation days=13.7
|Feb precipitation days=12.8
|Mar precipitation days=11.9
|Apr precipitation days=11.2
|May precipitation days=9.9
|Jun precipitation days=11.4
|Jul precipitation days=13.4
|Aug precipitation days=13.1
|Sep precipitation days=15.5
|Oct precipitation days=17.1
|Nov precipitation days=14.8
|Dec precipitation days=15.1
|year precipitation days=159.9
<!-- Average monthly sunshine hours, monthly totals are preferred, and will produce colours, but percentages are accepted. Use either the monthly or daily sunshne (depending on the source) but not both. -->
|Jan sun=3
|Feb sun=32
|Mar sun=112
|Apr sun=160
|May sun=218
|Jun sun=221
|Jul sun=205
|Aug sun=167
|Sep sun=92
|Oct sun=49
|Nov sun=6
|Dec sun=0
|year sun=
<!-- Mandatory fields, source -->
|source 1= Norwegian Meteorological Institute<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eklima.met.no|title=eKlima Web Portal|publisher=Norwegian Meteorological Institute|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040614073527/http://eklima.met.no/|archive-date=2004-06-14}}</ref>
}}

===Sunlight===
The [[aurora borealis]] is a common sight in the whole of Troms, but not in summer as there is no darkness. As with all areas in the polar latitudes, there are extreme variations in daylight between the seasons. As a consequence of this, the length of daylight increases (late winter and spring) or decreases (autumn) by 10 minutes from one day to the next.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/tromso.html|publisher=Gaisma|title=Sunrise and daylight in Tromsø}}</ref>
{{-}}
{| class="wikitable" 
|+Sunrise and sunset times on the 15th of each month in Tromsø
!Jan!!Feb!!Mar!!Apr!!May!!Jun!!Jul!!Aug!!Sep!!Oct!!Nov!!Dec
|-
|11:31 – 12:17||08:16 – 15:43||06:07 – 17:41||04:43 – 20:48||01:43 – 23:48||[[Midnight sun]]||[[Midnight sun]]||03:44 – 21:50||05:56 – 19:20||07:54 – 17:04||09:25 – 13:32||[[Polar night]]
|-
| colspan="12" style="text-align:center;font-size:80%;"|''Source: Almanakk for Norge; University of Oslo, 2010. Note: The sun is below the horizon until 15 January in Tromsø, but the low sun is blocked by mountains and not visible until 21 January.''
|}