Reykjavík Weather

Milder than the map implies and wetter than most people plan for. Reykjavík "has a subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfc)", which in practice means a narrow temperature range: winters that hover near freezing rather than plunging, and summers that rarely get properly warm. The number that shapes a trip is not temperature at all — the city "averages 147 days of rain (more than 1mm) per year", about two days in every five.

The ocean. "The city's latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state" — the same latitude as central Alaska, which freezes far harder. The difference is that "the proximity to the Arctic Circle and the strong moderation of the Atlantic Ocean in the Icelandic coast (influence of North Atlantic Current, an extension of the Gulf Stream) shape a relatively mild winter and a cold to cool summer". Iceland trades extremes for wind and rain.

Yes, but rarely all day. The city "averages 147 days of rain (more than 1mm) per year", which is roughly 40% of days — the pattern is showers arriving and clearing rather than steady downpours, which is why the photograph at the top of this page shows rain falling in bright sunlight. Plan around it with a waterproof shell rather than an umbrella: "the city's coastal location does make it prone to wind, however, and gales are common in winter", and wind destroys umbrellas here as a matter of routine.

Less cold than visitors expect, and the monthly normals are on our month pages rather than repeated here. The short version: mid-winter normals sit close to freezing rather than far below it, which is the mildness the North Atlantic Current buys. What actually makes a winter day hard is the combination — wind on top of a temperature just above zero, plus very little daylight to work with. Dress for the wind, not the thermometer.

It swings further than the temperature does. "From 20 May to 24 July, daylight is essentially permanent as the sun never gets more than 5° below the horizon." At the other end, "day length drops to less than five hours between 2 December and 10 January". That is the real seasonal difference in Reykjavík — not how cold it gets, but how much of the day you can actually use.

A windproof waterproof shell is the single item that matters, and it earns its place in every month of the year. Add layers you can add and remove — the temperature range across a day is small, but going from a sheltered street to an exposed one changes how it feels completely. Swimwear year-round for the geothermal pools, which are the local answer to bad weather rather than a summer activity. Skip the umbrella.