This Week In Weather: Hail Will Prevail!

December might have just “ho ho hoed” its way in, but a warm air mass will bring Icelanders temperatures resembling a second summer today and tomorrow.  In the north, Akureyri is estimated to potentially go up to 15º C today. At this same time last year, the temperatures there averaged at but 0.6º C, reports Vísir. In the rest of the country, temperatures are expected to range between 5º and 8º C accompanied by clouds and rain.

The northeast, however, is a different story. The Icelandic Meteorological Office has issued a yellow warning, which will be in effect until mid-morning tomorrow. Very strong winds are expected in the area with gusts up to 30 m/s. The driving conditions might become very severe, especially for larger vehicles that are more sensitive to wind.

Nonetheless, Reykjavík’s Tenerife temperatures are not expected to last very long. The freezing temperatures will be back on Wednesday and for the second half of the week, as our Patron Saints Hatari would say, Hail Will Prevail.

At this point, you might doubt whether Iceland’s Christmas season will contain huge amounts of snow, but don’t lose the holiday spirit yet. Instead of trusting the Nordic Gods to send frost to aid our sledding attempts, set up an inflatable, car-dealership style Santa Claus. The kids will love it.

That said, please keep your safety in mind and check the weather and road conditions when traveling. We really don’t want to report on more tourists getting caught on mountain passes.