Editing Sortland Municipality (section)

==Geography==
The municipality of Sortland is located on the islands of [[Langøya]] and [[Hinnøya]] in the [[Vesterålen]] [[archipelago]]. The municipality surrounds the inner part of the [[Eidsfjorden (Nordland)|Eidsfjorden]] and the [[Sortlandssundet]] strait. There are several bridges in the municipality including [[Djupfjordstraumen Bridge]], [[Kvalsaukan Bridge]], and [[Sortland Bridge]]. The [[Sortland Bridge]] is located just north of the [[Sortland (town)|town of Sortland]]. One of the main roads through the municipality is [[Norwegian County Road 82]]. The highest point in the municipality is the {{convert|1261.76|m|adj=on}} tall mountain [[Møysalen]].<ref name="elev" /> Møysalen is located on the southern border with [[Lødingen Municipality]] and it is within [[Møysalen National Park]].
{{wide image|NorwayBridgePanorama.jpg|770px|Sortlandsbrua bridge with Strand at Hinnøya island, from Hurtigruten in Sortland}}

===Midnight Sun and Aurora Borealis===
The [[midnight sun]] occurs from 23 May to 23 July. Great places to observe the midnight sun }includes the Sortland Bridge, Ramnflauget, Godfjorden, Holm, and Skytterhaugen in the Vestmarka residential area. Because of Sortland's high latitude, }} is no real darkness between late April and mid-August.

[[Polar night]] occurs in Sortland from 30 November to 12 January when the sun remains below the horizon and is not visible at all. The return of the sun is an occasion for celebration in [[Northern Norway]], known as "Soldagen" ({{lit|Day of the sun}}) which is commonly celebrated with children getting the day off from school. The polar night does not mean that it becomes totally dark, typically daylight is visible for a few hours around noon.

Sortland and the Vesterålen region are perfect for observing the spectacular [[Aurora Borealis]] (Northern Lights) phenomenon. The aurora borealis trails its multi coloured banner across the sky and the moon lights the scene making it a breathtaking experience. Pictures taken here have been presented in National Geographic Magazine.

===Climate===
Sortland has a [[subpolar oceanic climate]]. The weather station (Sortland-Kleiva) has been recording since January 1956. The record high of {{convert|31|C}} was set on 29 July 2018. The record low  {{convert|-13.5|C}} was set in January 2016 (extremes available since 2004). The average date for the last overnight freeze (low below {{convert|0|°C|1|abbr=on}}) in spring is 7 May<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 May 2012 |title=Siste frostnatt om våren |url=https://www.yr.no/artikkel/siste-frostnatt-om-varen-1.8119060}}</ref> and average date for first freeze in autumn is 14 October<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 September 2013 |title=Første frostnatt |url=https://www.yr.no/artikkel/forste-frostnatt-1.11261900}}</ref> giving a frost-free season of 159 days (1981-2010 average). 
{{Weather box 
|metric first= yes
|single line = yes
|location = Sortland - Kleiva 1991–2020 (14 m, extremes 2004–2022)
|Jan record high C =9.7 | Jan record low C = -13.5
|Feb record high C = 8.2 | Feb record low C = -11.1
|Mar record high C = 9.5 | Mar record low C = -12.1
|Apr record high C = 17.6 | Apr record low C = -7.3
|May record high C = 22.5 | May record low C = -4.4
|Jun record high C = 29.3 | Jun record low C = 1.1
|Jul record high C = 31 | Jul record low C = 5.1
|Aug record high C = 30.3 | Aug record low C = 3
|Sep record high C = 22.6 | Sep record low C = -1.2
|Oct record high C = 18.2 | Oct record low C = -3.3
|Nov record high C = 12 | Nov record low C = -9.2
|Dec record high C = 10.1 | Dec record low C = -10.1
<!-- Mean daily temperature -->
|Jan mean C=-0.8
|Feb mean C=-1.3
|Mar mean C=-0.3
|Apr mean C=2.3
|May mean C=6.4
|Jun mean C=10
|Jul mean C=13.1
|Aug mean C=12.4
|Sep mean C=9.1
|Oct mean C=4.6
|Nov mean C=1.9
|Dec mean C=0.1
|year mean C=
<!-- Total precipitation, this should include rain and snow. -->
|precipitation colour=green <!-- Enter "green" for green precipitation colours, remove this line for blue colouring. -->
|Jan precipitation mm=160
|Feb precipitation mm=174
|Mar precipitation mm=150
|Apr precipitation mm=110
|May precipitation mm=82
|Jun precipitation mm=78
|Jul precipitation mm=60
|Aug precipitation mm=90
|Sep precipitation mm=116
|Oct precipitation mm=168
|Nov precipitation mm=139
|Dec precipitation mm=171
|year precipitation mm=
<!-- Mandatory fields, source -->
|source 1= eklima/Norwegian Meteorological Institute<ref>{{Cite web |title=Norwegian Meteorological Institute |url=http://sharki.oslo.dnmi.no/portal/page?_pageid=73,39035,73_39080&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL}}</ref>
}}

Earlier weather station
<br>
{{Weather box 
|metric first= yes
|single line = yes
|location = Sortland 1991–2020 (3 m)
| Jan high C = 1.8
 | Feb high C = 1.4
 | Mar high C = 2.5
 | Apr high C = 5.5
 | May high C = 9.8
 | Jun high C = 12.6
 | Jul high C = 15.7
 | Aug high C = 15.4
 | Sep high C = 12.1
 | Oct high C = 7.3
 | Nov high C = 4.4
 | Dec high C = 2.7
 | year high C = 7.7

 | Jan mean C = -0.8
 | Feb mean C = -1.1
 | Mar mean C = -0.2
 | Apr mean C = 2.7
 | May mean C = 6.6
 | Jun mean C = 9.7
 | Jul mean C = 12.5
 | Aug mean C = 12.3
 | Sep mean C = 9.3
 | Oct mean C = 5.0
 | Nov mean C = 2.1
 | Dec mean C = 0.2
 | year mean C = 4.8

 | Jan low C = -3.4
 | Feb low C = -3.7
 | Mar low C = -2.8
 | Apr low C = -0.1
 | May low C = 3.8
 | Jun low C = 7.4
 | Jul low C = 10.2
 | Aug low C = 9.8
 | Sep low C = 6.8
 | Oct low C = 2.6
 | Nov low C = -0.4
 | Dec low C = -2.3
 | year low C = 2.4
<!-- Total precipitation, this should include rain and snow. -->
|precipitation colour=green <!-- Enter "green" for green precipitation colours, remove this line for blue colouring. -->
 | Jan precipitation mm = 152.2
 | Feb precipitation mm = 138.6
 | Mar precipitation mm = 141.2
 | Apr precipitation mm = 88.9
 | May precipitation mm = 65.6
 | Jun precipitation mm = 59.1
 | Jul precipitation mm = 62.2
 | Aug precipitation mm = 76.4
 | Sep precipitation mm = 129.2
 | Oct precipitation mm = 168.7
 | Nov precipitation mm = 139.9
 | Dec precipitation mm = 174.2
 | year precipitation mm = 1396.2
<!-- Mandatory fields, source -->
|source 1= eklima/Norwegian Meteorological Institute<ref>{{Cite web |title=Norwegian Meteorological Institute |url=http://sharki.oslo.dnmi.no/portal/page?_pageid=73,39035,73_39080&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL}}</ref>
 | source 2 = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|NOAA]]<ref name="WMONormals">{{Cite web |title=World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Sortland |url=https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/2.2/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Norway/CSV/SORTLAND_86500.csv |access-date=January 11, 2024 |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration}}</ref>
}}