Weather Warning for Most of Iceland

The Icelandic Met Office has issued a yellow alert for the following areas: South Iceland, Southwest Iceland, West-Northwest Iceland, Southeast Iceland and the Central Highlands. A southeast gale is forecast for these areas, with wind gusts by mountains in excess of 40 m/sec. This will be accompanied by swelling rivers.

The gale warning for South Iceland is effective until  4 am on Sunday.

A heavy rain warning is effective for South Iceland from  2 am tomorrow morning until 5 am Sunday morning.

For Faxaflói, West Iceland, a gale warning is in effect from 3 pm tomorrow until 3 am Sunday morning.

For the north part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, a gale warning is in effect this afternoon until tomorrow at 3 am.

In Southeast Iceland, a gale warning is in effect from 6 pm Saturday until midnight. A heavy rain warning is in effect Sunday from 3 am until midnight.

In the Central Highlands, a gale and violent gale warning is in effect this afternoon until 6 am on Sunday. No travel is advised in the Highlands.

Travelers are advised to plan their trips between parts of the country in such a way that they will be at their destination by about 7 pm tonight, or else postpone their trip until tomorrow morning.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday, and the weekend is traditionally seen as the first major travel weekend of the year. Travelers are encouraged to follow the weather forecast at en.vedur.is, as well as to keep an eye on warnings by the Icelandic Road Administration at road.is. 

According to meteorologist Óli Þór Árnason, it will be very windy tonight and into the early morning hours. Winds will calm somewhat tomorrow morning, but then pick up again tomorrow afternoon, with the windiest conditions forecast late Saturday night.

Óli warns of extremely strong wind gusts near mountains, such as by Hafnarfjall mountain and on Kjalarnes  in the southwest, by Ingólfsfjall  mountain in the south or by Eyjafjöll mountains in South Iceland.  In the northern part of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, West Iceland, conditions are expected to get very windy.

A yellow advisory has also been issued for South and Southeast Iceland, effective Sunday, due to heavy precipitation.

Heavy rain will result in the rapid melting of snow, causing rivers and creeks to swell, especially in the southern highlands and the southern part of the country. Therefore, drivers should be careful not to venture out on less traveled roads, which could get very muddy.

The weather is expected to improve after the weekend.