areivaj asked: When it start snowing in Reykjavik? I love your blog :)
Thank you.
The weather in Iceland is extremely hard to predict and you can get all the year’s seasons in a single day anytime of year. There are winters during which almost no snow falls in Reykjavík and there are winters when we get a lot. Typically we’ll get the first “hausthret” or fall snow/sleet sometime in October. However it is unlikely that snow will cover the ground for more than a day or so at a time until late December. But even in the coldest month, January, the average temperature is just below freezing. This means that it can rain any day. In my experience Reykjavík rarely stays snow covered for much more than a week or so at a time.
Last year we had a couple of odd days of snow in mid June. This is very unusual, but as I said, weather in Iceland is unpredictable.
Anonymous asked: Hi! I'm a photographer planning a trip around your beautiful country for fun and not so much profit, probably in late March or April of 2012. However, I am not really a fan of freezing to death or anything like that. Do you have any advice for the completely unprepared and foreign novice hiker as far as necessary equipment for the weather or general physical preparations, if I was actually intending to hike? (in case you can't tell, this plan is in the very basic stages.)
There is no such thing as bad weather in Iceland, only improper clothing. That said, things can get a bit extreme and it is possible to literally freeze to death.
Iceland is not as cold as many might think. However, we have strong winds and plenty of rain. You should therefore get yourself familiar with layered clothing. You’ll want a good waterproof outer jacket and pants, goretex or similar. As inner layers you might choose a wool or synthetic base layer and a midweight fleece sweater in the middle. March and April can be quite cold, so a permaloft or similar jacket is very useful. Don’t skimp on the shoes. Proper hiking boots are very useful as soon as you leave Reykjavík.
There are several “foreign novice hikers” which have made not so positive headlines in recent years and I’ve spent many hours searching for them, not always with success. So be careful. Plan your trip thoroughly, get local info and always leave a detailed travel plan with a trusted contact when you leave civilization. The Icelandic Search and Rescue has created a great site about planning safe trips in Iceland.
Have fun and stay safe.
downdeepinside asked: Hey there! I'm going on a school trip to Iceland early next April and was just wondering if you knew the average temperature around that time? I can't decide whether I need to buy lots of warm clothing or not!
As an indicator of how to dress, the average temperature in Iceland is about as useful as the average number of books published. The thing is, Iceland is like a box of chocolates and you never know what you’re gonna get.
The average temperature in April is 2,9°C (35.6°F). However, Iceland is a wild card and it may get as warm as 15°C or drop down to -20°C. Wind, rain and snow are much more influential on how you should dress and you can get all in one day. So bring something waterproof (pants and a jacket), use layers, wear good shoes and don’t forget your hat and gloves.
Just to clarify one thing. There’s no such thing as bad weather in Iceland, just wrong clothing. This video might be from April.
Anonymous asked: what is the weather in iceland like during the summer? also what are the months where it stays light out all day? thanks :)
The weather in Iceland is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are gonna get.
The average temperature in Reykjavík is roughly between 0-10°C. During the coldest months, December and January, the average is just below freezing, while the warmest months, July and August average just over 10°C. The hottest summer days we get are somewhere between 20-25°C. Today is an excellent summer day with 17°C, minimal wind and lots of sunshine. That said anything can happen. This year it snowed in both May and June in Reykjavík. It gets very windy and you can expect plenty of wind driven rain. If you plan to do some proper outdoor stuff (what Iceland is all about), then be prepared for everything.
It is more or less light outside all night all summer. The 21. of June is the longest day of the year and then you’ll see no difference between day and night. About a month before and a month after you’ll experience short periods of half dark which increases as you move further away from the 21. of June. The opposite occurs on the 21. of December with 24 hours of darkness.
Since the weather today is so great, I’m out of here and going skydiving.
INSTALLING Summer 2011 in Iceland…
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Installation delayed … please wait. Installation failed.
Please try again. ……404 error: Season not found.
AutoRe-installing winter
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There’s a saying in Iceland “If you don’t like the weather in Iceland, just wait fifteen minutes.” This often holds true, because since we are a small mountaineous island in the North Atlantic, nothing is stable. Even though we’ve had all this crazy snow in the past few days and an unusually snowy winter overall, the forecast is for up to 11°C and rain this weekend. This will cause lots of problems as all that snow melting this fast will clog up drains, filling the streets with snowmelt. Everybody will have to be careful to clear away their drains to prevent their cellars from flooding.
