Last month was the seventh-warmest April on record in Reykjavík, according to the latest figures from the Icelandic Met Office. April weather was calm and warm across Iceland, though it cooled down in the last week of the month.
The average temperature in Reykjavík in April was 5.3°C [41.5°F], which is 1.6°C above the 1991-2020 average and 1.2°C above the average for the last ten years. The average temperature in Akureyri, North Iceland, was also 1.6°C above the 1991-2020 average, at 4.2°C [39.6°F]. That is one degree higher than the average for the last decade. In Stykkishólmur, West Iceland, the average temperature was 4.0°C [39.2°F] and in Höfn, Southeast Iceland, the average temperature was 4.4°C [39.9°F]. The April temperatures recorded at 12 weather stations across the country all averaged higher than the April average of the past decade.
Surprise spring snow in Reykjavík
Despite pleasantly warm temperatures, Reykjavík received 87 millimetres of precipitation in April: 50% more than the 1991-2020 average. Akureyri received only about 85% of its average precipitation compared to the same period, or 21.7 mm. Reykjavík residents were surprised by heavy snowfall on April 27, which measured 11 cm [4.3 in] – such heavy snowfall is indeed rarely seen in the region in the second half of April. In Akureyri, however, no such “white” days were recorded last month, a drop from the monthly average of five. Both Reykjavík and Akureyri had more sunshine last month than the monthly average.
The highest average temperature for last month was 6.3°C [43.3°F], recorded on Surtsey island in the Westman Islands archipelago off South Iceland. Visits to the island are forbidden for all but the members of an annual research expedition, so it can’t be said that these balmy temperatures were enjoyed by any of Iceland’s human residents – though the island’s avian inhabitants hopefully profited.
