Tomorrow is Sumardagurinn fyrsti, the First Day of Summer, a unique Icelandic public holiday. The annual holiday takes place on the first Thursday after April 18th. According to the Old Norse calendar this day was the beginning of the summer season.
Summer and winter freezing together
However, the weather in Iceland at this time of year usually has more in common with winter than summer. In fact, an old belief states that if summer and winter freeze together, if there is frost on the morning of the first day of summer, we can expect a warm and sunny summer.
If we accept this old belief and trust the weather forecast for tomorrow, we might be looking forward to a good summer! The Icelandic Meteorological Office expects temperatures around the coast to be at or just above freezing, 1-7°C (33.8-44.6°F) in the south and 0°C (32°F) in the north.
Expect sleet and hard snow in the morning and heavy rain in Reykjavík by evening. Overcast throughout the day in South, West and North Iceland. Clear skies in East Iceland.
No summer yet, but spring is here!
The longer term forecast is similarly wintry. We can't see any signs of summer in our weather maps, a meteorologist at the IMO told the local news site Vísir. But then again, this is what spring looks like in Iceland!
Tomorrow is Sumardagurinn fyrsti, the First Day of Summer, a unique Icelandic public holiday. The annual holiday takes place on the first Thursday after April 18th. According to the Old Norse calendar this day was the beginning of the summer season.
Summer and winter freezing together
However, the weather in Iceland at this time of year usually has more in common with winter than summer. In fact, an old belief states that if summer and winter freeze together, if there is frost on the morning of the first day of summer, we can expect a warm and sunny summer.
If we accept this old belief and trust the weather forecast for tomorrow, we might be looking forward to a good summer! The Icelandic Meteorological Office expects temperatures around the coast to be at or just above freezing, 1-7°C (33.8-44.6°F) in the south and 0°C (32°F) in the north.
Expect sleet and hard snow in the morning and heavy rain in Reykjavík by evening. Overcast throughout the day in South, West and North Iceland. Clear skies in East Iceland.
No summer yet, but spring is here!
The longer term forecast is similarly wintry. We can't see any signs of summer in our weather maps, a meteorologist at the IMO told the local news site Vísir. But then again, this is what spring looks like in Iceland!
