July brings heavy rain and low sunshine hours to Reykjavík amid warmer temperatures in Akureyri, Iceland

July was marked by heavy rain across many regions in Iceland, as reported by the Icelandic Meteorological Office. In Reykjavík, the number of sunshine hours was significantly below average, with only a little over 70 hours recorded.

The month was especially rainy in the western parts of the country, including Ólafsfjörður. While July was relatively warm in the North, it felt quite gloomy in the South and West. The average temperature in Reykjavík was 11°C, which is 0.7°C below the average for the years 1991 to 2020, and 0.6°C lower than the average of the last decade. In contrast, Akureyri recorded a warmer average temperature of 12.7°C, which exceeds the 1991-2020 average by 1.5°C.

Reykjavík experienced fewer sunshine hours, totaling just 110.9, which is 72.3 hours below the average. Meanwhile, Akureyri enjoyed more sunshine, recording 175 hours, which is 22.5 hours above average.

Nationwide, wind speeds were 0.6 m/s above the norm for the same time period, with the strongest gusts occurring between July 11 and 13, and again on the 22nd and 31st. The month also saw unusually low air pressure, further contributing to the unfavorable weather conditions. Notably, the heaviest rainfall at various weather stations in the West was recorded during this period, leading to flooding in places like Grundarfjörður.