The heat wave predicted to hit Iceland this weekend will almost certainly see temperatures rise above 20 degrees for the first time this year. It was in 1979, or exactly 30 years ago, that the temperature last failed to break the 20°C barrier during the first full six months of the year. The same chilly phenomenon occurred in 1961 and 1952.
The year 2009 will probably avoid that fate, but could be in competition with 1994, when the temperature didn’t go above 20 until the very dying days of June.
Most people seem to be saying the summer has been cold so far – but a look at the statistics reveals a different story. May temperatures were above average across Iceland as a whole and the same seems to be true of June too, surprisingly.
Mbl.is reports that all the country’s major weather stations have recorded a slightly higher than normal average temperature during the first 24 days of June, according to meteorologist Trausti Jonsson, who compiled the monthly report.
Reykjavik’s mean June temperature was 0.5°C above average, 0.9°C higher in Stykkisholmur, 0.3 in Akureyri, 0.6 in Dalatangi and a whole degree higher in the Westman Islands.
The impression of chill could come from the relative paucity of bright sunny days and a noticeably keen wind for large parts of the month.
