Yellow weather alerts will be in place in North Iceland, East Iceland, Southeast Iceland, and the Central Highlands tonight and tomorrow, Vísir reports. Residents in the Eastfjords and Southeast Iceland are encouraged to secure outdoor furniture.
Storms to hit hardest in East Iceland and Central Highlands
Following some rather untoward weather in Iceland over the past few days, yellow weather alerts will come into effect in North Iceland, East Iceland, Southeast Iceland, and the Central Highlands tonight and tomorrow, Vísir reports. Most of the alerts will take effect tomorrow morning and will be valid until 3 PM Saturday (some alerts will take effect tonight).
The Westfjords, Northeast, and Northwest Iceland will likely see snowfall on mountain roads, with poor visibility and driving conditions; and there will be rain and sleet in the lowlands. East Iceland will experience sharp gusts, with stormy weather on mountain roads, poor visibility, and deteriorating driving conditions until midday tomorrow (“hazardous conditions” for travel). The weather will be at its worst, however, in the Eastfjords and Southeast Iceland – where residents are encouraged to secure outdoor furniture – and in the Central Highlands.
Waiting on summer
The weather is, however, expected to improve around the beginning of June. As noted by Vísir yesterday, meteorology enthusiast Mohammed Emin Kizilkaya recently predicted that residents could expect good weather around the end of the month, for “summer would be on its way to the country.”
In an interview with the hosts of the radio programme Reykjavík síðdegis yesterday, Meteorologist Sigurður Þ. Ragnarsson agreed with Mohammed’s assessment: “It must be said that what he is saying is visible on our maps,” Sigurður observed.
Mohammed predicted that temperatures of up to 25°C could be expected in East Iceland on May 28. “He is also quite right in saying that temperatures in the east will exceed twenty degrees. Not necessarily on May 28, however, but it is likely,” Sigurður commented.
“It’s also right to note,” Sigurður continued, “that this is what we, both myself, Einar Sveinbjörnsson, and others, have been talking about: we’re expecting a good summer and what’s happening is that this high-pressure zone in the south is bringing humid, tropical air. This means that we’ll get westerly winds while this high-pressure zone remains to the south of the country, which further means that weather in East Iceland will be prime.”
No premature celebrations
In the aforementioned interview, Sigurður warned against any premature celebrations of summer: “Because we have to endure Saturday, which will be a day of bad weather, cold and insufferable – but then things will begin to improve. This high-pressure zone is heading over the country, and then we will have sunshine in most if not all parts of the country.”
Sigurður added that the eastern and southern parts of Iceland were looking the most favourable, as far as the forecasts were concerned, for the last days of May. “But it’s an extremely favourable outlook, and it’s in the spirit of what we’ve been talking about. It doesn’t surprise me that now is the time that summer begins – and that it will do so with full force.”
“I would really like to have a summer house in East Iceland as it looks now,” Sigurður concluded by saying.
