Sunndalsøra is the administrative centre of Sunndal Municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The village of Sunndalsøra lies at the mouth of the river Driva at the beginning of the Sunndalsfjord. Sunndalsøra is surrounded by steep mountains, such as Hårstadnebba, which reach elevations as high as 1700 m. Some of these mountains around Sunndalsøra are used for BASE jumping. The 3.39 km2 village has a population (2018) of 4,054 and a population density of 1196 PD/km2.

Location

The village is located about 4 km west of the village of Hoelsand, 10 km southeast of the village of Øksendalsøra, and about 9 km west of the village of Grøa. Norwegian National Road 70 runs through the village of Sunndalsøra on its way from the town of Kristiansund to Oppdal Municipality in the neighboring Trøndelag county.

Economy

Sunndalsøra is the largest village in Sunndal Municipality and it is home to Hov Church, the main church for the parish. Norsk Hydro operates an aluminium plant at Sunndalsøra. About 900 employees work at the plant, which has been operating since 1954. In 2004, the plant was modernized to become the biggest and among the most modern aluminium plants in Europe, greatly reducing pollution. In addition to aluminium related research, aquaculture research also takes place in Sunndalsøra, and many also work in public service in Sunndal municipality.

Climate

Sunndalsøra has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb). Atlantic lows can produce a strong foehn effect in winter. This occurs when there is a strong low located southwest of the coast bringing mild air from the Atlantic Ocean, and the air is further warmed when forced over the mountains, and a dry warm air comes down on the leeward side down to the fjord. Sunndalsøra has the national all-time high for all winter months: December with 18.3 °C recorded in 1998, January with 19.0 °C, recorded January 2, 2020. This is also the warmest winter temperature ever recorded in Scandinavia. And in February with 18.9 °C recorded February 23, 1990. The record high 32.1 °C is from July 2014, and the record low -18.9 °C is from February 2010. Old climate normal

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