Heavy Snowfall in Reykjavík

For the first time since December 26, the residents of Reykjavík woke up to a snow-covered ground this morning. Up to 10 cm (4 in) of snow had fallen overnight – likely the heaviest snowfall this winter. This is only the fourth day this winter that the city streets are covered in snow. It happened once in November and twice in December.

The snowfall came as a surprise to many residents, who had long since forgotten the location of their winter boots, let alone their snow scrapers. Some regretted not having set their alarm clocks earlier, since this search took longer than expected.

Once they had located both and scraped the windows of their cars, they had to admit that the snow added brightness to the otherwise dark morning.

Tomorrow, precipitation in the city could be in the form of sleet, so those who plan to go sledding had better not postpone it until tomorrow.

Equal distribution of snow has not been the goal of the weather gods this winter. While the northern part of the country has seen so much snow that parked cars have at times been hard to locate, Reykjavík has seen the least amount of snow on record, that is, since measurements began in the year 1921.

It was snowing again in Akureyri, North Iceland, this morning, and there is snow in the forecast for most of the northern half of the country today.