Iceland has seen a sunny and dry August so far, so sunny that NASA posted a satellite photo of the cloudless island from August 10 on one of its websites recently. However, the summer had a snowy start in north Iceland where the mountains have now already turned white again.
A sunny day in Akureyri. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.
Yesterday morning inhabitants in Akureyri, northeast Iceland, woke up to see that the slopes of Mt. Hlídarfjall, where the town’s ski resort is located, had turned white and it had also snowed on Mt. Tindastóll by Saudárkrókur further in the northwest, ruv.is reports.
According to Morgunbladid, it appears as if the sunniest weather this weekend will be in south Iceland. Lack of precipitation is becoming an issue, especially in the southwest.
There has been very little rain in the capital region this summer with only 92 millimeters of precipitation in Reykjavík since May 2, which is half the average precipitation.
Days of precipitation, with 1.0 millimeter per 24 hours or more, from May to August number 32, ten fewer than during the average summer.
“If the drought continues until the end of this month I believe we have to go back to 1958 to find as dry a summer from May to August,” commented meteorologist Trausti Jónsson at the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
Click here to read more about the NATA satellite photo of Iceland.
ESA
