The first image that comes to mind at the mention of Iceland is of a dark country covered in ice and snow all year round. Forget everything that comes to mind when hearing the word “Iceland”. Cold, Iceland? Well, actually, not that much!
In winter, the average temperature in Icelandic is around 0 °C, and the coldest temperature ever recorded in Iceland is -39.7 °C. In the winter from 2014-2015 the weather was appalling and an incredible number of storms were recorded. In the Icelandic capital, Reykjavík the month of February 2015 has been the coldest in seven years, and the month of May the coldest since 1979! However, winter was not that terrible in general to be worth mentioning. There’s a tradition of naming Icelandic winters that have been particularly harsh, ever since 976. Some examples are: winter torments 1620 or the winter of 1313 is called horse fell.
The summer after the stormy winter of 2014/2015 also broke records; it was not more than two degrees on top of a mountain near Selfoss in July, and temperatures were well sullen throughout Iceland. Summer is still a little warmer. The average summer temperature is 10 ° C and the hottest temperature ever recorded in Iceland was in the east at 30.5 ° C in 1939.
Iceland is a country of wind, and if the temperature is moderate, it still feels like the wind will freeze you from head to toe. Iceland is the second windiest country on the planet. The windiest place in Iceland: Stórhöfði on Westman Islands recorded four windless days this year. The rest of the time, the wind can reach 100km / h. You can test the extremely strong winds by going by bus (leaving your car) you’ll be surprised how windy it is! The city of Vík í Mýrdal in the south of Iceland is the place that registers the most rainfall in Iceland with about 2275 millimetres per year; that’s three times more rain fall than in the Icelandic capital and five times more rain fall than Akureyri.
Apparently the best place for good weather in Iceland is still disputed: sources say Kirkjubæjarklaustur, Skaftafell, Myvatn and the east fjords of Iceland are the country’s sunniest spots. Take Icelandic weather (as most Icelanders say) with this philosophy in mind – “If the weather does not please you, wait five minutes.” Those who have already discovered Iceland understand what this saying means.
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