Coldest February since 2008
February in Reykjavik was a stroy of cold, wind, rain and snow. Photo: Golli
Last month was the coldest February in Reykjavik since 2008. February brought with it particularly rainy, snowy and windy conditions, along with blizzards and flooding, both in the capital and elsewhere.
The average temperature in Reykjavik in February was -0.1°C, almost two degrees lower than the average over the last ten years.
This average does not, however, tell the whole story for Iceland as February brought with it quite extreme highs and lows. The highest temperature of the month was 17.4°C (on 8 February in Dalatangi, Eastern Iceland) and the lowest, -25.8°C (on 21 February in Brúarjökull, Eastern Iceland). That said, urban areas of Iceland saw freezing temperatures for seventeen days of the month.
On top of the cold, Reykavik also saw more rain and less sunshine than usual. Precipitation in February totalled 93.2mm, 30% more than average, while total sunshine hours (34.3) were almost 50% lower than in the previous ten years. Snow was slightly down on average values, with ten snow-covered days in Reykjavik.
February also saw particularly windy conditions, with wind speeds 1.5m/s higher than average.
