Weather Aspects of Viking Life

Life as a Viking was difficult at best but was made more so by the different weather patterns that move through the Baltic region. The Skaggarack and the Baltic Sea may be fairly small water features compared to the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, but they feel the effects of many of the same frontal systems that occur in the other oceans.

Before I go into different weather features that move through the Baltic and the Skaggarack, it is important to understand the following definitions:

Cold front:

A wedge of cold air underrunning warm air.

Warm front:

Warm air replacing cold air at the surface.

Air Mass:

A body of air which originates over the same area, ex. land, water etc... and stays in that area for a week or more) before moving out of the originating area.

When air masses move out of their originating region they mix with different air masses, producing strong frontal systems which move through the Baltic region. These storms bring in the bitter cold air from Siberia during the winter and at times tropical air over the Alps from the Mediterranean.

Air masses which move into the Baltic region originate from the Arctic land mass, Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the continental surrounding areas and the Mediterranean Sea.