Utklippan
Utklippan is a Swedish lighthouse and the name of two small islands, Södraskär (South skerry) and Norraskär (North skerry). It has been a light station since 1789 when a basket light was in use. The current tower (built in 1870) replaced an older tower built in 1840 on top of an old fortress. The flame ran on colza oil. In 1887 the colza oil lamp was replaced with a kerosene lamp. It has been powered electrically since 1948.
 Utklippan Lighthouse | |
  Blekinge Province | |
| |
| Location | Baltic Sea Southeast of Karlskrona Sweden |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 55.952736°N 15.701429°E |
| Year first constructed | 1789 (first) 1840 (second) |
| Year first lit | 1870 (current) |
| Automated | 1972 |
| Deactivated | 2008 (passing light active) |
| Foundation | stone basement |
| Construction | cast iron skeletal tower |
| Tower shape | conical skeletal tower with central cylinder, balcony and lantern on a stone fortress |
| Markings / pattern | red tower, grey lantern dome, white fortress |
| Tower height | 30 metres (98 ft) |
| Focal height | 31 metres (102 ft) |
| Original lens | mirrors |
| Current lens | 4th Fresnel lens |
| Range | 23 nautical miles (43 km; 26 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl (2) WRG 6s. (current) Fl W 15s. (before deactivation) |
| Admiralty number | C7442 |
| NGA number | 7696 |
| ARLHS number | SWE-073 |
| Sweden number | SV-6015 |
| Managing agent | Swedish Maritime Administration (Sjöfartsverket)[1] |
| Heritage | individual listed building complex  |
The Swedish Maritime Administration owns the lighthouse. In the summer of 2008 SMA reported that the white main light had been deactivated, as it was no longer considered to be an important lighthouse for commercial shipping. A small passing light remains in use. In 1997 Utklippan had 17 nights with overnight lows above 20 °C (68 °F), which is the second highest number for any Swedish weather station in one summer.[2]
There are five other houses on the island, owned by the Swedish National Property Board. One of them is a small hostel and one a birding station, as the island is rich in birdlife.
| Climate data for Utklippan, 2015-2020 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 4.1 (39.4) |
4.0 (39.2) |
5.2 (41.4) |
8.2 (46.8) |
12.8 (55.0) |
17.6 (63.7) |
19.6 (67.3) |
20.5 (68.9) |
16.9 (62.4) |
12.2 (54.0) |
8.5 (47.3) |
6.4 (43.5) |
11.3 (52.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.7 (36.9) |
2.6 (36.7) |
3.5 (38.3) |
6.0 (42.8) |
10.3 (50.5) |
15.0 (59.0) |
17.2 (63.0) |
18.2 (64.8) |
15.1 (59.2) |
10.7 (51.3) |
7.2 (45.0) |
5.0 (41.0) |
9.5 (49.1) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 1.4 (34.5) |
1.2 (34.2) |
1.8 (35.2) |
3.8 (38.8) |
7.8 (46.0) |
12.5 (54.5) |
15.0 (59.0) |
16.0 (60.8) |
13.3 (55.9) |
8.6 (47.5) |
6.0 (42.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
7.8 (46.0) |
| Source: [3] | |||||||||||||
References
- Utklippan The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved April 11, 2016
- "Tropiska nätter" (in Swedish). SMHI. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
- "SMHI". Archived from the original on 2013-02-13.
- Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Sweden: Kalmar". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 9 September 2008.
External links
- Sjofartsverket (in English)
- The Swedish Lighthouse Society
- Utklippans fyr (in Norwegian)