APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110018-4
CONFIDENTIAL
summer the mean height of the freezing level is close to 9,000 feet in all approaches. In winter it is close to 2,000 feet over the North Sea; over land, however, freezing temperatures occur at the surface from about mid-November to mid-March. The upper-air winds in all approaches prevail from the west, and average speeds are generally less than 50 knots. Speeds in excess of 50 knots, however, frequently occur near 30,000 feet in winter. In all approaches maximum cloudiness occurs in the period October through February, when the average cloud cover ranges from 65% to 80%; during the remaining months, averages range from 50% to 65%. Thunderstorms are infrequent in the approaches over water; in the approaches over land they occur more often, principally during the period May through September. The average number of days with thunderstorms ranges from 10 or fewer annually in the northern approaches to 15 to 20 in the southern approaches.
All approaches to the Faeroe Islands are periodically affected by cyclonic storms; their frequency and intensity are greatest in the period November through March. They are accompanied by extensive and thick cloud layers, in which icing frequently occurs. Turbulent air conditions also occur in the frontal systems. The most favorable flying weather occurs in the summer, when these adverse conditions are less pronounced, although fog occasionally restricts visibility. Average cloudiness is about 80% in all approaches throughout the year. Thunderstorms are rare. The average height of the freezing level is near 8,000 feet in all approaches in summer; in winter it fluctuates between the surface and 2,000 to 3,000 feet. Upper-air winds are predominantly from the west, with average speeds generally less than 50 knots except near 30,000 feet in winter, when they frequently exceed 60 knots.
Topographic hazards to flying are greatest in the approaches from the north, where the maximum elevation is 8,100 feet in south-central Norway, approximately 250 nautical miles from Denmark. Most elevations in these approaches are less than about 6,500 feet, and large areas are less than 3,300 feet. There are no topographic hazards to flying in the approaches from the east; large areas are less than 650 feet above sea level, and the highest elevation is 1,237 feet in southern Sweden, about 110 nautical miles from eastern Denmark. In the approaches from the south elevations are mostly less than 3,300 feet, and large areas are less than 650 feet. A peak in the Harz mountains on the border between West and East Germany, about 170 nautical miles from Denmark, is 3,747 feet in elevation, and the maximum elevation in the southern approaches is 3,950 feet, in the Erzgebirge mountains of East Germany, about 250 nautical miles from southeastern Denmark. There are no topographic hazards to flying in air approaches from the west.
16
CONFIDENTIAL
APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110018-4
