After record temperatures in Iceland in January and February, March is off to a chilly start. Reykjavík was covered in a dusting of snow this morning and temperatures averaging around -4ºC (24.8 ºF).
Archive photo: Páll Stefánsson/Iceland Review.
Similar weather conditions exist in other parts of the country, with the coldest temperatures in the West Fjords and Akureyri, North Iceland, with temperatures dropping to -12ºC (10.4ºF) and -9ºC (15.8ºF), respectively. The forecast is for continued snowfall in all parts of the country throughout the week.
People are advised against traveling in North and West Iceland with icy conditions and snowdrifts present in parts of West Iceland and a travel warning also being issued for the West Fjords. A strong wind warning has been issued for most parts of the country.
Search and rescue teams have been called out in recent days to assist travelers stranded in the bad weather. “This is just your usual nasty Icelandic weather conditions,” Einar Þór Strand, chairman of the Stykkishólmur rescue team, told visir.is.
As reported last week, the first two months of 2013 were the warmest period since weather observations began in Reykjavík close to 200 years ago. The temperature reached 10.2ºC (50.4°F) in Reykjavík and 15.3°C (59.5°F) in Seyðisfjörður.
Click here and here to read about the record temperatures in Iceland in the first two months of this year.
Visit vedur.is for weather updates and vegagerdin.is for road conditions.
ZR
