The Icelandic Met Office expects the water level of rivers to continue to rise in South Iceland until midnight on Friday. The heavy rain, which began Monday, does increase the likelihood of landslides. Flood conditions are expected in rivers and creeks in the area from Mýrdalsjökull glacier in the south to Hornafjörður in the southeast. Travelers are warned not to attempt to cross any unbridged rivers or creeks in this area in the coming days.
Heavy rain and windy conditions of 13-20 m/sec are expected in South Iceland today. Strong gale, in excess of 20 m/sec, is forecast in the highlands. The rain will taper off and the winds die down in late afternoon in the south, but in the west, winds will pick up and the rain increase for a while. There will be calmer winds and showers in the south and west tomorrow, but fair in the north.
A waterfall in Eyjafjöll mountains, moving upwards, yesterday. Photo: Páll Stefánsson.
A severe storm went through South Iceland overnight, but, luckily, there are no reports of accidents, according to RÚV. Firefighters in the capital area were called out six times last night to pump out water from basements.
The road between Grundarfjörður and Ólafsvík, in the northern Snæfellsnes peninsula, was closed last night due to weather, but has been reopened.
Meteorologist Þorsteinn V. Jónsson warns of heavy rain in the south and southeast today. He reports that in the last 24 hours, the rainfall was the heaviest in the Bláfjöll ski area, east of Reykjavík, where it measured 132 mm (5.2 in), and on nearby Hellisheiði mountain, where it reached 105 mm (4.1 in). In Reykjavík, the precipitation was 29 mm (1.1 in).
Go to en.vedur.is for the latest on the weather.
