Riksgränsen
| Riksgränsen | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 68°25′40″N 18°07′20″E / 68.42778°N 18.12222°ECoordinates: 68°25′40″N 18°07′20″E / 68.42778°N 18.12222°E |
| Vertical | 410 m (1,350 ft) |
| Runs | 28 |
| Lift system | 6 |
| Lift capacity | 7400 passengers/hr |
| Night skiing | Selected days (under midnight sun) |
Riksgränsen, The National Border in Swedish, is a ski-resort in Kiruna Municipality, Lappland, Sweden, 200 km north of the Arctic Circle. The skiing season is from February to June. From end of May the lifts operate under the midnight sun.
Riksgränsen is a popular location for the winter testing of pre-production cars by various European manufacturers. Photo-snipers are prevalent, attempting to get the first spy-shots of new models, though their activities are frowned upon by local hoteliers who value the custom of the manufacturers. The same manufacturers frequently use the location for winter launches, bringing journalists from across the world to drive the new cars on snow-covered roads and on courses specially prepared on frozen lakes.
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Climate
Although the subarctic climate of the region is very cold, it has considerably milder winters than normally expected for an inland northerly area, due to its proximity to the warm North Atlantic Current. Summers do remain cool in spite of the midnight sun due to similar marine effects. With prevailing low-pressure systems taking precedence, the climate is snowy and cloudy. The deep snow cover and the time it takes for thawing prolongs the skiing season to the midnight sun window.
| Climate data for Katterjåkk, 2002-2013 (extremes 1901-2011), (snowfall 1970-1981) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 6.4 (43.5) |
5.2 (41.4) |
7.0 (44.6) |
10.9 (51.6) |
20.5 (68.9) |
27.8 (82) |
27.3 (81.1) |
26.9 (80.4) |
20.0 (68) |
14.7 (58.5) |
10.4 (50.7) |
7.7 (45.9) |
27.8 (82) |
| Average high °C (°F) | −6.6 (20.1) |
−7.3 (18.9) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
1.5 (34.7) |
6.2 (43.2) |
12.1 (53.8) |
16.2 (61.2) |
14.3 (57.7) |
8.4 (47.1) |
2.0 (35.6) |
−1.9 (28.6) |
−4.8 (23.4) |
2.99 (37.39) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −10.1 (13.8) |
−10.8 (12.6) |
−7.7 (18.1) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
2.8 (37) |
8.1 (46.6) |
11.9 (53.4) |
10.4 (50.7) |
5.2 (41.4) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
−4.6 (23.7) |
−7.9 (17.8) |
−0.42 (31.23) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −13.7 (7.3) |
−14.2 (6.4) |
−11.1 (12) |
−5.3 (22.5) |
0.0 (32) |
4.6 (40.3) |
8.3 (46.9) |
7.2 (45) |
2.8 (37) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−7.4 (18.7) |
−11.0 (12.2) |
−3.56 (25.59) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −34.1 (−29.4) |
−35.2 (−31.4) |
−29.2 (−20.6) |
−20.6 (−5.1) |
−14.4 (6.1) |
−3.9 (25) |
0.5 (32.9) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−8.6 (16.5) |
−17.0 (1.4) |
−22.5 (−8.5) |
−33.0 (−27.4) |
−35.2 (−31.4) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 81.4 (3.205) |
68.8 (2.709) |
68.5 (2.697) |
42.1 (1.657) |
53.4 (2.102) |
63.6 (2.504) |
90.8 (3.575) |
64.2 (2.528) |
123.6 (4.866) |
87.4 (3.441) |
63.5 (2.5) |
72.4 (2.85) |
879.7 (34.634) |
| Average snowfall cm (inches) | 65.3 (25.71) |
59.4 (23.39) |
43.7 (17.2) |
41.3 (16.26) |
19.3 (7.6) |
4.5 (1.77) |
0.0 (0) |
0.0 (0) |
13.1 (5.16) |
47.5 (18.7) |
54.5 (21.46) |
73.3 (28.86) |
421.9 (166.11) |
| Average precipitation days | 17.9 | 18.3 | 18.6 | 16.3 | 17.1 | 16.8 | 17.2 | 16.2 | 21.2 | 19.8 | 18.0 | 18.5 | 215.9 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 0.0 | 21.8 | 92.2 | 147.9 | 179.1 | 195.5 | 208.2 | 153.5 | 68.0 | 35.4 | 0.9 | 0.0 | 1,102.5 |
| Mean daily sunshine hours | 0.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 6.2 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.78 |
| Source: [1] | |||||||||||||