Crazy winter weather has hit north Iceland. Avalanches have caused the road across the mountain pass Ólafsfjarðarmúli between Dalvík and Ólafsfjörður to be impassable. The road between Akureyri and Dalvík is also closed.
Archive photo by Páll Stefánsson.
On the other side of Eyjafjörður, a truck is stuck in the mountain pass Víkurskarð between Akureyri and Húsavík; the road is now closed. The road to Grenivík which circumvents the pass cannot be cleared yet and is also closed, visir.is reports.
As for other road conditions, the Icelandic Road Administration reports slippery patches on Hellisheiði and Þrengsli leading from Reykjavík to south Iceland, partially slippery and snowy conditions in south Iceland and on Reykjanes peninsula.
In west Iceland snow cover and snow drift is reported in Brattabrekka leading to the West Fjords and snow cover and blizzard on the Holtavörðuheiði mountain pass on the Ring Road between Borgarnes and Blönduós.
In the West Fjords many roads are impassable or barely passable. The conditions are similar in the northwestern region where slippery roads and blizzards prevent commuters from taking to the roads. In east Iceland the roads are slippery and covered in snow.
On the mountain pass Öxnadalsheiði between Varmahlíð and Akureyri a truck overturned last night, but luckily the vehicle fell towards the mountain, not down the slope, visir.is reports.
The driver was unable to get out of the vehicle and search and rescuers had to break the windscreen to get to him. He was taken to the hospital in Akureyri but only suffered minor injuries.
Due to the bad weather, schools were closed across north Iceland this morning and students given a snow day, ruv.is reports.
According to ruv.is, skiers also welcome the recent snowfall; the slopes in Mt. Hlíðarfjall in Akureyri are set to open on Saturday. Continued frost is forecast.
Go to vegagerdin.is for updates on road conditions.
ESA
