Although some years it feels as though the number of summer days in Iceland can be counted on one hand, meteorologist Trausti Jónsson has claimed that summer in Iceland actually lasts well into September, reports RÚV. Based on his study of daily summer temperatures over the past forty-odd years, Trausti has concluded that summer temperatures peak during the last week of July into the first week of August, and that it is much warmer on August 31 than June 1.
In his latest blog post, Trausti explained that he examined temperatures in Iceland from June 1 to August 31 in 1973-2016 in order to see if our ancestors were right in calling July 23 midsummer, in terms of heat. His research showed that summer continues well into September and the warmest period in summer generally does indeed occur right around now, or the days on or around July 23.
Trausti stated that average temperatures and average highs in inhabited parts of the country increase steadily from June 1 until mid-July. The highest average temperature is reached in the last week of July to the first week of August. “It so happens that August 8 is the warmest day—but it’s probably chance, July 26 is nearly as warm,” stated Trausti.
The average high peaks on July 24 and the average low is highest on July 26. “In all cases, it is warmer on August 31 than June 1. If we assume that June 1 is warm enough for us to consider spring as having ended and summer begun, we have to acknowledge that summer lasts well into September,” stated Trausti.
Trausti also looked at the absolute maximum and minimum temperatures in Iceland each day over the same timeframe. They also show that summer temperatures peak in mid-July, and minimum temperatures are much higher at the end of August than on June 1. The same applies to the average lowest-high in Iceland. According to this, the lowest-high falls on August 8, and Trausti wrote that “it is at least as warm at the end of August as it is around July 10—summer is by no means over then.”
The latest weather forecast seems to back up Trausti’s research. The chart shows sunshine and heat for Iceland today and tomorrow, according to mbl.is. Temperatures could climb as high as 25°C [77° F] in Northeast Iceland, which recorded a high of 23°C[73.4°F] at 11am this morning, while Reykjavík reached 17°C [62.6°F].
Helga Ívarsdóttir, a meteorologist at the Icelandic Meteorological Office, said the forecast looks good for the next few days. “In the Reykjavík capital area it will be warm and partly sunny. Temperatures are expected to climb to 20°C [68°F] in the next few days,” said Helga. “The western half of the country will get more sunshine. It will be very hot in Northeast Iceland and could reach as much as 25°C.”
