Inversion characteristics in a valley

The article shows some aspects of the temperature climate in a valley and its surroundings at Maze on Finnmarksvidda, where three meteorological observation stations have been in operation since the autumn of 1981. The stations are situated at the bottom, on the side and at the top of the valley. Temperature inversions are most frequent in the winter and, during the period of observation, especially frequent in December. As expected, inversions are uncommon in the summer. The frequency of inversion shows no variation during the day in the months November, December and January. The greatest daily variation takes place in the season February-May. Inversions are more frequent in cold winters than in mild winters. But in the interval below -15 degrees C there is no correlation between the monthly mean temperature and the frequency of the valley inversion. In extremely cold weather the inversion near the valley floor is often weak and may even be missing. Temperature inversions in the valley very decisively affect the temperature data so that the mean temperature increases with elevation in the season from November to March.