The summer of 2018 will not be remembered for the sunshine and balmy summer weather. Continuing the trend set by May and June, the month of July delivered less sunshine, more rain and cloudier skies than the average summer month.
Read more: Sarcastic weather outlook: Summer canceled. Instead we'll get three extra months of fall
According to the July weather report from the Icelandic Meteorological Office July only delivered 90 hours of sunshine in the capital region, which is slightly more than half the long term average In 1960-1991 Reykjavík could see on average 171 hours of sunshine in July. We have to go back to 1989 to find a July with less sunshine. While North and East Iceland have been spared the worst of the poor weather this summer, July has also been unusually bad in the North. Akureyri saw 122 hours of sunshine in July, 36 fewer than the average year.
July was also wetter than average: Reykjavík saw 20% more rain than in an average July, while Akureyri saw twice as much rain as usually. In Reykjavík it rained 26 out of the 31 days of July. We have to go back to 1982 to find a July with more rainy days. Akureyri was delivered 17 days of rain – more than at any time on record. Record rain was recorded at several weather stations around Iceland.
So far the year 2018 is well above the long term average when it comes to rain and overcast skies. The first seven months of the year have seen 45% more rain in the capital and 30% more rain in Akureyri than the average. Since modern measurements began in the 19th century Reykjavík has never seen more rainy days during the first seven months of the year.
We still have a few weeks left of August, so we could still get a small taste of summer, but we at Iceland Insider are not crossing our fingers. It would be good, for everyone, if California, Portugal, Spain or or Scandinavia were to get some of the rain we have been enjoying!
The summer of 2018 will not be remembered for the sunshine and balmy summer weather. Continuing the trend set by May and June, the month of July delivered less sunshine, more rain and cloudier skies than the average summer month.
Read more: Sarcastic weather outlook: Summer canceled. Instead we'll get three extra months of fall
According to the July weather report from the Icelandic Meteorological Office July only delivered 90 hours of sunshine in the capital region, which is slightly more than half the long term average In 1960-1991 Reykjavík could see on average 171 hours of sunshine in July. We have to go back to 1989 to find a July with less sunshine. While North and East Iceland have been spared the worst of the poor weather this summer, July has also been unusually bad in the North. Akureyri saw 122 hours of sunshine in July, 36 fewer than the average year.
July was also wetter than average: Reykjavík saw 20% more rain than in an average July, while Akureyri saw twice as much rain as usually. In Reykjavík it rained 26 out of the 31 days of July. We have to go back to 1982 to find a July with more rainy days. Akureyri was delivered 17 days of rain – more than at any time on record. Record rain was recorded at several weather stations around Iceland.
So far the year 2018 is well above the long term average when it comes to rain and overcast skies. The first seven months of the year have seen 45% more rain in the capital and 30% more rain in Akureyri than the average. Since modern measurements began in the 19th century Reykjavík has never seen more rainy days during the first seven months of the year.
We still have a few weeks left of August, so we could still get a small taste of summer, but we at Iceland Insider are not crossing our fingers. It would be good, for everyone, if California, Portugal, Spain or or Scandinavia were to get some of the rain we have been enjoying!
