Northern Lights over Hvalfjörður in 2010

Well this is a nice piece of news: Morgunblaðið reports that there are Northern Lights dancing over Reykjavík. I can indeed verify this information as I have arrived back in the big city. In fact, the lights can be seen over all of southern Iceland (the parts surrounding route 1, anyway).

The Northern Lights are not an uncommon sight in Iceland at this time of year, but they were particularly visible over the city tonight in a northern or western direction. Often the lights are more difficult to see in Reykjavík, where light pollution from the city can reduce the contrast between the lights and the sky.

The lights could be seen hovering over Esja, the mountain which sits opposite Reykjavík, and then to the west towards Faxaflói.

Source: Morgunblaðið
Image: Flickr

Labels: Weather

The onset of winter can clearly be felt here in Iceland. Just the other day the Icelanders were celebrating the first day of winter with the annual kjötsúpa (Icelandic lamb soup) festival. Morgunblaðið reports roads in south and east Iceland in the area around Holtavörðuheiði are empty due to dangerous ice-slicks.

According to information from Vegagerðin (the Icelandic Roads Authority) such conditions are to be found in the Steingrímsfjarðarheiði and Þröskuldar areas and in Northern Iceland slippery ice and ice-slicks are widespread. Such ice is also in the process of forming in the Öxnadalsheiði area and on the road between Akureyri and Dalsvík. The area surrounding Víkurskarð in Northern Iceland has also seen some snowfall.

In Eastern Iceland the snow has reached the areas of Möðrudalsöræfi and Vopnafjarðarheiði. Slippery conditions are also present in Fjarðarheiði and ice-slicks can be found around Fagradalur and Oddskarð. Due to roadworks the Oddskarð tunnel will be closed at night until Friday, from 23:00 to 06:00.

Wherever your heading in rural Iceland, make sure you have your snow tyres installed and you let someone know where you’re going.

Source: Morgunblaðið

Labels: Transport, Weather, Winter

The unbelievably amazing weather that southwest Iceland has been experiencing over the past few days is set to continue until at least Monday. Reykjavík has been experiencing bright blue skies with few clouds and temperatures approaching the twenties in recent days.

On Tuesday and Wednesday the weather is expected to be mild, and at the end of the week it will be getting warmer in northern and eastern Iceland. The unusually hot weather follows a heat wave in the rest of Europe, where temperatures have reached over 40°C in some parts of the continent.

Recent prevailing northerlies and northeasterlies have brought with them extraordinarily sunny weather in southern and western regions, whilst bringing little spectacular weather to other parts of the country.

Source and image: mbl.is

Labels: Weather

Hydrographers for the Icelandic Met Office announced on Sunday afternoon that a flood started in the river Skaftá in southern Iceland, near Kirkjubæjarklaustur. At the time of publication of the first report the size of the flood was unknown, but a report released later in the evening states that the flood seems to be a small one. It is said to be similar to a flood in the area in 2005.

The source of Skaftá is Vatnajökull, Iceland’s largest glacier, which takes up a large portion of the western part of the country. It is not known at this point exactly where in the glacier the floodwater originated. Residents of Skaftárdalur, the valley which the river flows through, have been informed of the flood. It is thought that the road into the valley may be flooded. There is considered to be no danger to travellers.

The water level has begun to rise at Sveinstindur. Earlier on Sunday afternoon, the water was predicted to reach the mountain lodge Hólaskjól at Nyrðra-Fjallabak by 16:00, and later the municipality of Skaftárdalur at around 18:30. It was also predicted that the flood would reach Kirkjubæjarklaustur, which lies on the south coast. It is unclear from the reports whether this is the case.

Later on in the day, the police in Hvolsvöllur issued their thoughts on the flood. They considered it average, going so far as to say that it is a cyclical event. The image above was taken in 2008.

Sources: mbl.is, mbl.is
Image: genevieveromier

Labels: Natural disasters, Nature, Weather