Norway
Best Time to Dive in Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas
70.02°N 20.89°E
Go November to December for orca. Only 1.1 hours of daylight then, while the calmest water is May to September. Diving holds up from April to September.
- Best time
- Nov–Dec
- Water
- 3–11 °C
- Visibility
- 0–30 m
- Season runs
- Apr–Sep
- Dived from
- snorkelling
- Tidal range
- 1.3–2.6 m
- Species logged
- 4
Worth knowing: only 1.1 hours of daylight.
Where it is
111 km across · coastline from Natural Earth 10m
Diving in Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas — monthly breakdown
A year of scuba diving conditions at a glance. Hover a month to isolate it.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions | Moderate | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Excellent | Excellent |
| Water temp (°C) | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Visibility (m) | — | — | 20–30 | 15–25 | 15–25 | 10–20 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 0–10 | — | — | — |
| Marine life | Steady | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Quiet | Steady | Busy | Busy |
| Best time | Peak | Peak |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorPeak season Nov–Dec
Long-term averages, 2016–2025. Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a. Water temperature is the surface mean; it is cooler at depth.
The Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas diving season
January · Shoulder season
1 monthJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 4–4 °C
- Rain
- 16 days a month
Diving conditionsThe wind is up.
February to September · Off season
8 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 3–11 °C
- Visibility
- 15–25 m
- Rain
- 17 days a month
Diving conditionsThe wind eases.
October to December · Peak season
3 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 6–9 °C
- Rain
- 16 days a month
Diving conditionsThe wind is up.
- Spring tides run 2.6 m against 1.3 m on neaps, so currents build around the full and new moon.
- Water temperature is satellite sea-surface temperature, so expect it cooler below the thermocline.
- Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a.
Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas water temperature and weather
1,587 underwater observation records · 27 surveyed years of ocean data · 10 years of sea temperature
Water & weather
Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas water temperature by month
The dashed line is the monthly average. Eight days in ten fall inside the band.
10th to 90th percentile rangemonthly mean
1
blowy days a month
Gusts over 40 km/h, about where a day boat stays in port
16
wet days a month
2 of them bring heavy rain
| Month | Swell | Gusts over 40 km/h | Wet days | Heavy rain | Air | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | — | 4% | 16 | 3 | -2 °C | — |
| February | — | 4% | 15 | 2 | -2 °C | 6.6 h |
| March | — | 5% | 20 | 2 | -1 °C | 11.0 h |
| April | — | 1% | 16 | 1 | 2 °C | 15.6 h |
| May | — | 1% | 17 | 1 | 7 °C | 21.2 h |
| June | — | 0% | 15 | 2 | 11 °C | 24.0 h |
| July | — | 0% | 14 | 3 | 15 °C | 24.0 h |
| August | — | 2% | 18 | 3 | 14 °C | 17.7 h |
| September | — | 2% | 17 | 3 | 11 °C | 12.8 h |
| October | — | 3% | 16 | 3 | 5 °C | 8.3 h |
| November | — | 4% | 16 | 2 | 2 °C | 2.3 h |
| December | — | 2% | 16 | 3 | -1 °C | — |
Swell is the rough end of the month: nine days in ten come in under it. Sea temperature covers 10 years, waves 0.
Pick your week
48 weeks from the daily record. Darker is better, against this site's own year. Pick a month for the detail.
| Week 1 | January week 1: Moderate | February week 1: Moderate | March week 1: Poor | April week 1: Poor | May week 1: Poor | June week 1: Poor | July week 1: Poor | August week 1: Poor | September week 1: Poor | October week 1: Moderate | November week 1: Good | December week 1: Good |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 2 | January week 2: Moderate | February week 2: Poor | March week 2: Poor | April week 2: Poor | May week 2: Poor | June week 2: Poor | July week 2: Poor | August week 2: Poor | September week 2: Poor | October week 2: Moderate | November week 2: Excellent | December week 2: Good |
| Week 3 | January week 3: Moderate | February week 3: Poor | March week 3: Moderate | April week 3: Poor | May week 3: Poor | June week 3: Poor | July week 3: Poor | August week 3: Poor | September week 3: Poor | October week 3: Good | November week 3: Excellent | December week 3: Excellent |
| Week 4 | January week 4: Good | February week 4: Moderate | March week 4: Poor | April week 4: Poor | May week 4: Poor | June week 4: Poor | July week 4: Poor | August week 4: Poor | September week 4: Poor | October week 4: Excellent | November week 4: Excellent | December week 4: Good |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorBest week to go: third of December
January, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 5 °C | — | 19 km/h | 57% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 5 °C | — | 18 km/h | 54% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 4 °C | — | 18 km/h | 50% |
| Week 4 | Good | 4 °C | — | 18 km/h | 48% |
February, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 4 °C | — | 16 km/h | 52% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 4 °C | — | 17 km/h | 56% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 4 °C | — | 17 km/h | 52% |
| Week 4 | Moderate | 4 °C | — | 17 km/h | 53% |
March, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 4 °C | — | 17 km/h | 54% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 16 km/h | 55% |
| Week 3 | Moderate | 3 °C | — | 20 km/h | 67% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 22 km/h | 70% |
April, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 19 km/h | 65% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 17 km/h | 58% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 4 °C | — | 16 km/h | 53% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 4 °C | — | 16 km/h | 49% |
May, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 5 °C | — | 16 km/h | 53% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 5 °C | — | 18 km/h | 59% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 6 °C | — | 18 km/h | 53% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 6 °C | — | 18 km/h | 49% |
June, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 7 °C | — | 17 km/h | 56% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 8 °C | — | 16 km/h | 52% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 8 °C | — | 16 km/h | 49% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 9 °C | — | 16 km/h | 49% |
July, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 10 °C | — | 15 km/h | 46% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 10 °C | — | 14 km/h | 47% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 11 °C | — | 12 km/h | 47% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 11 °C | — | 12 km/h | 39% |
August, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 11 °C | — | 14 km/h | 38% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 12 °C | — | 15 km/h | 52% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 12 °C | — | 16 km/h | 65% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 11 °C | — | 16 km/h | 68% |
September, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 11 °C | — | 16 km/h | 62% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 10 °C | — | 16 km/h | 55% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 10 °C | — | 16 km/h | 57% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 10 °C | — | 14 km/h | 53% |
October, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Moderate | 9 °C | — | 15 km/h | 48% |
| Week 2 | Moderate | 9 °C | — | 16 km/h | 54% |
| Week 3 | Good | 9 °C | — | 16 km/h | 55% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 8 °C | — | 16 km/h | 53% |
November, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 8 °C | — | 16 km/h | 54% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 8 °C | — | 15 km/h | 55% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 7 °C | — | 15 km/h | 52% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 7 °C | — | 15 km/h | 51% |
December, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 7 °C | — | 15 km/h | 49% |
| Week 2 | Good | 6 °C | — | 14 km/h | 44% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 6 °C | — | 14 km/h | 49% |
| Week 4 | Good | 6 °C | — | 17 km/h | 56% |
10 years of daily records, averaged into weeks.
Gear & storms
What to wear
Off the coldest water of each month, not the average — that is what the suit has to cope with.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suit | January: dry | February: dry | March: dry | April: dry | May: dry | June: dry | July: dry | August: dry | September: dry | October: dry | November: dry | December: dry |
One suit covers the whole year: a drysuit.
Tides
Tropical storms
No tropical storm has come within 250 km in 30 years of records. Swell and wind set the season, not cyclones.
- NOAASea surface temperature, from OISST and MUR
- ERA5Wind, waves, rain and air temperature, via Open-Meteo
- OBISMarine species records within 60 km
- IBTrACSTropical cyclone tracks, 1996 to 2025
Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas marine life — what you'll see diving
| Species | When | Observed window | Reliability | Evidence | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humpback whale | Nov–Dec | Likely | 1086 | ||
| Orca | Nov–Dec | Likely | 445 | ||
| Minke whale | Jul–Sep | Likely | 24 | ||
| Sperm whale | Jan | Hit-or-miss | 25 |
Peak Present
- Observed window
- Months with records. Peak is where most of them fall.
- Reliability
- Near-guaranteed in 60% of surveyed years or more
- Likely 30% to 60%
- Hit-or-miss under 30%
- Evidence
- Years it was seen, out of the years anyone surveyed.
- Records
- OBIS sightings within 60 km.
These are sightings people logged, not a full survey of the reef. A species missing from a month may just mean nobody recorded one.
Diving Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas — common questions
- When is the best time to dive Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas?
- Go November to December for orca. Only 1.1 hours of daylight then, while the calmest water is May to September. Diving holds up from April to September.
- When is the diving season in Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas?
- Conditions are good April to September, but most divers come November to December for the marine life.
- Is the diving in Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas good for beginners?
- Not really. It is for experienced divers, so it is not a place to learn or to make your first dives after certification.
- How warm is the water in Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas?
- Between 3 and 11 °C at the surface across the year, coldest in March and warmest in August. It runs cooler below the thermocline.
- What wetsuit do I need in Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas?
- A drysuit covers the coldest water of the year. The same suit works all year.
- What is the visibility like in Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas?
- Roughly 0 to 30 m depending on the month. That is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a rather than measured in the water.
- What will I see diving Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas?
- The most consistently recorded species are Humpback whale (likely), Orca (likely) and Minke whale (likely), from 1,587 records within 60 km.
- Does Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas get tropical storms?
- No. None has passed within 250 km in 30 years of records.
- Is there current in Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas?
- The tide rises and falls 2.6 m around the full and new moon, against 1.3 m in between. How much of that becomes current depends on the shape of the channel.
- When should I avoid Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas?
- February–September are the weakest months for conditions.
- How do you dive Lofoten / Skjervoy orcas?
- Mostly from the surface. Trips run through the season, Apr–Sep.