Winter appears to have arrived for good in the West Fjords. The ground is covered in snow in Ísafjördur and yesterday freezing winds were at times blowing at a speed of 20 meters per second.
Skiing in Akureyri. Archive photo by Páll Stefánsson.
Flights to Ísafjördur have been canceled in the past few days and it doesn’t look like flights can be resumed today, Morgunbladid reports.
The road conditions are difficult at many mountain passes in the West Fjords with some roads being closed, such as the road across Thröskuldar by Hólmavík.
But even if the road is impassible drivers continue to try to progress through Thröskuldar; search and rescue was called out last night to pick up a driver who was stuck in his car in the mountain pass, visir.is reports.
The mission went well as it has become somewhat of a routine procedure for the Hólmavík search and rescue team; it was the fourth case of a driver getting stuck in Thröskuldar in the span of a few days.
The road is the latest constructed by the Icelandic Road Administration across a mountain pass. It shortens the route to Hólmavík considerably but parts of it are also subjected to heavy snowfall in the winter.
In Akureyri, in the northeast, the ground is now completely white with conditions reported to be good in the local ski resort at Mt. Hlídarfjall. The cross-country track opened on Monday and the slopes are being prepared.
The weather at sea is stormy with winds of 20 meters per second forecast and the stormiest conditions expected in the northwest.
There are currently around 100 fishing vessels out at sea and some of them may have to seek shelter in harbors, visir.is reports.
Continued snowfall is predicted in the northwest with rain in the capital region tonight.
ESA
