Longest Drought on Record Was in June
From Stykkishólmur. mbl.is/Ómar Óskarsson
The longest drought on record was in Stykkishólmur, West Iceland, from May 21 till June 26, or a total of 37 days, mbl.is reports. Weather information was first recorded in Iceland in 1856, and this is the longest drought since then. The past month was dry and warm in the south and west, but cooler in the north and east.
Precipitation in Reykjavík measured 29.5 mm, which represents 60 percent of the average precipitation from 1961 to 1990. In Akureyri, North Iceland, the precipitation was 14.3 mm, or 50 percent of the average precipitation 1961-1990. In Stykkishólmur, the precipitation amounted to 12.3 mm – only 30 percent of the average. In Hornafjörður, Southeast Iceland, there were only 7.2 mm of precipitation.
The average temperature in Reykjavík in June was 10.4° C (51° F), which is 1.3° above the average of the time period 1961-1990, but 0.3° above the average of the past ten years. In Akureyri, the average temperature measured 9.6° (49° F), or 0.5° C beyond the 1961-1990 average, but 0.4° C under the past decade’s average. In Stykkishólmur, the average temperature was 8.9° C (48° F) and 9° C (48.2° F) in Hornafjörður.
There were 303.9 hours of sunshine in Reykjavík in June, which is 142.6 hours more than the average for 1961-1990. Only four times has Reykjavík enjoyed more hours of sunshine in June: That was in 2012, 1924 and 2008, and finally in 1928, when a record was set with 338.3 hours of sunshine in June. Akureyri enjoyed 186.3 hours of sunshine in the past month – 9.7 hours more than the average 1961-1990.
The highest average temperature in June measured 10.8° C (51.4° F) by Lómagnúpur mountain in South Iceland and in Skálholt, South Iceland. It was the lowest, or 1.5° C (34.7° F) on Gagnheiði mountain, East Iceland. In the lowlands, the lowest average temperature was 6.2° C (43° F) in Rauðinúpur cape, Northeast Iceland. The highest temperature of the month was 25.3° C (77.5° F) by Skarðsfjöruviti lighthouse, South Iceland, on June 12. The coldest temperature recorded in June was minus 6.6° C (20° F) on Gagnheiði mountain, June 1 and 2.
