Thanks to last week's storms, which dumped massive quantities of rain on Iceland, February is on track to be one of the rainiest and wettest in recent years. The rain caused flash floods and swelling rivers. When Reykjavík residents went to work on Wednesday discovered the city's streets and parking lots had been turned into rivers and lakes. The massive rain melted the snow and ice which had built up in the past weeks.
Read more: Photos, videos: Storm turns Reykjavík streets, parking lots into lakes and rivers
The rain didn't stop on Wednesday, but continued on Thursday and Friday. The Icelandic Meteorological Office reports that Friday and Saturday morning set a record: During the 24 hour period from 9:00 on Friday morning until 9:00 on Saturday morning Reykjavík saw 33.3 mm (1.3 in) of rain. This is close to half the average monthly precipitation in February.
In a usual February Reykjavík sees a total of 72 mm (2.8 in) of precipitation.
Record precipitation in the last week of February appears to be the new normal in Reykjavík. At this time last year Reykjavík saw a record snowstorm: 51 cm (20 in) of evenly fallen snow.
Read more: Photos of the incredible snow which greeted us in Reykjavík on this day one year ago
While the water has drained from the streets of Reykjavík some recreational areas and some parks on the outskirts of the city are still flooded.
Thanks to last week's storms, which dumped massive quantities of rain on Iceland, February is on track to be one of the rainiest and wettest in recent years. The rain caused flash floods and swelling rivers. When Reykjavík residents went to work on Wednesday discovered the city's streets and parking lots had been turned into rivers and lakes. The massive rain melted the snow and ice which had built up in the past weeks.
Read more: Photos, videos: Storm turns Reykjavík streets, parking lots into lakes and rivers
The rain didn't stop on Wednesday, but continued on Thursday and Friday. The Icelandic Meteorological Office reports that Friday and Saturday morning set a record: During the 24 hour period from 9:00 on Friday morning until 9:00 on Saturday morning Reykjavík saw 33.3 mm (1.3 in) of rain. This is close to half the average monthly precipitation in February.
In a usual February Reykjavík sees a total of 72 mm (2.8 in) of precipitation.
Record precipitation in the last week of February appears to be the new normal in Reykjavík. At this time last year Reykjavík saw a record snowstorm: 51 cm (20 in) of evenly fallen snow.
Read more: Photos of the incredible snow which greeted us in Reykjavík on this day one year ago
While the water has drained from the streets of Reykjavík some recreational areas and some parks on the outskirts of the city are still flooded.
