The first severe winter storm hit the capital region and South West Iceland on Sunday. Sustained wind speeds reached 35 m/s (78 mph in West Iceland and the suburbs of Reykjavík, with individual wind gusts reaching 65 m/s (145 mph). Wind speeds in excess of 32 m/s (75 mph) are considered to be hurricanes. The storm caused significant property damage and some minor accidents. All international flights were cancelled, causing significant disruption to air travel.
Delayed and cancelled flights
All international and domestic flights were cancelled on Sunday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and delayed. The delays create a chain-reaction of delays, according to a spokesman of Keflavík Airport who spoke to the National Broadcasting Service RÚV, which the airlines and airport are trying to clean up. Several flights were delayed on Monday, RÚV reports, but the Airport expects flight schedules to be back to normal today.
ICE-SAR to the rescue
The storm, which began picking up Sunday morning, peaked early evening. The local news site Vísir reports that at 15:00 the volume of emergency requests for assistance and help, had overwhelmed the Metropolitan Police and Fire Department who decided to request the assistance of ICE SAR.
RÚV reports that some 300 members of ICE-SAR companies in South and West Iceland participated in nearly 350 emergency operations during Sunday's storm. Most of the calls for assistance came from the capital region, where the storm caused havoc at construction sites, blowing down scaffolding and fences. ICE-SAR were busy all day helping homeowners and those responsible for construction sites stop loose items from blowing off and causing damage and danger.
Rare lightning strikes cause power outages
The storm caused power outages in Reykjanes peninsula, including Keflavík Airport, in several suburbs of Reykjavík as well as in Vestmannaeyjar islands and in the village Vík in South Iceland. RÚV reports that 40,000 people were left without power.
The cause of the power outage at Keflavík Airport and the village of Vík were lightning strikes, which are very rare in Iceland. A lighting struck the main transmission line connecting Reykjanes peninsula to the rest of the electrical grid, taking the grid in the peninsula down, knocking power plants in Reykjanes off-line. A second lighting struck a transmission line near the village of Vík.
The first severe winter storm hit the capital region and South West Iceland on Sunday. Sustained wind speeds reached 35 m/s (78 mph in West Iceland and the suburbs of Reykjavík, with individual wind gusts reaching 65 m/s (145 mph). Wind speeds in excess of 32 m/s (75 mph) are considered to be hurricanes. The storm caused significant property damage and some minor accidents. All international flights were cancelled, causing significant disruption to air travel.
Delayed and cancelled flights
All international and domestic flights were cancelled on Sunday, leaving thousands of passengers stranded and delayed. The delays create a chain-reaction of delays, according to a spokesman of Keflavík Airport who spoke to the National Broadcasting Service RÚV, which the airlines and airport are trying to clean up. Several flights were delayed on Monday, RÚV reports, but the Airport expects flight schedules to be back to normal today.
ICE-SAR to the rescue
The storm, which began picking up Sunday morning, peaked early evening. The local news site Vísir reports that at 15:00 the volume of emergency requests for assistance and help, had overwhelmed the Metropolitan Police and Fire Department who decided to request the assistance of ICE SAR.
RÚV reports that some 300 members of ICE-SAR companies in South and West Iceland participated in nearly 350 emergency operations during Sunday's storm. Most of the calls for assistance came from the capital region, where the storm caused havoc at construction sites, blowing down scaffolding and fences. ICE-SAR were busy all day helping homeowners and those responsible for construction sites stop loose items from blowing off and causing damage and danger.
Rare lightning strikes cause power outages
The storm caused power outages in Reykjanes peninsula, including Keflavík Airport, in several suburbs of Reykjavík as well as in Vestmannaeyjar islands and in the village Vík in South Iceland. RÚV reports that 40,000 people were left without power.
The cause of the power outage at Keflavík Airport and the village of Vík were lightning strikes, which are very rare in Iceland. A lighting struck the main transmission line connecting Reykjanes peninsula to the rest of the electrical grid, taking the grid in the peninsula down, knocking power plants in Reykjanes off-line. A second lighting struck a transmission line near the village of Vík.
