Melting glaciers in Iceland are contributing to an increased supply of electrical power. In the past ten years, the additional supply has amounted to one medium-sized power plant.
Several avalanches have fallen in Eskifjörður in the last few days, and the Met Office assesses a considerable risk of avalanches in the mountains of the Eastfjords, the Trölli Peninsula, and Eyjafjörður.
The berry picking promises to be good all over Iceland this year, even though it is starting late, due to the cool, wet summer. Arna, the lactose-free dairy company based in Bolungarvík, has already received a tonne of wild bilberries, which will be used in yoghurt for sale in shops all over Iceland.
Roughly eight percent fewer drivers now choose to use studded winter tires on their cars than two years ago, according to FÍB, the Icelandic Automobile Association. It is worth noting that early winter this year has been mild and that some drivers may be holding off.
RÚV received a video this week that shows a whale just off the beach at Reynisfjara; the second time in about a week. Guðjón Már Sigurðsson, marine biologist and cetacean expert at the Icelandic Marine Research Institute, says the whale swims shallow in a search for food.
The glacial flood, or jökulhlaup, is the first from the western cauldron in almost three years. This is considered to be a significantly lengthy break.
The winter so far has seen very little snow in Iceland. December snowfall was well below average in both Reykjavík and Akureyri. Meteorologist Elín Björk Jónasdóttir says it has been one of the least white winters in living memory so far.
A jökulhlaup flood struck West Iceland’s Hvítá river in the early hours of Tuesday morning when water from a lagoon by the Langjökull glacier suddenly broke a new path and flowed in a different direction. Thick glacial mud now coats the river banks, and much of Borgarfjörður fjord.
The flooding started yesterday in the Grímsvötn volcano area. The water flow at the source of the discharge reaches 300 cubic metres per second. The jökulhlaup is expected to last about 24 hours, which is how long the water takes to get to the Gígjukvísl canal on Road 1.
There are currently fewer minke whales and more humpbacks in Icelandic waters than usual for the time of year, and some appear to be skipping the southward migration altogether.
Despite the very strong activity, widely felt throughout Reykjanes Peninsula as well as the capital area and beyond, there remains no sign of any volcanic eruption.
There is considerable damage to a house on Aðalgatu in Siglufjörður after the roof came off in a storm last night. Ólöf Rún Erlendsdóttir, reporter, and Sölvi Andrason, cameraman, are in Siglufjörður and sent pictures of the damage.
A fog-like mist in northern Iceland may be connected to forest fires in Canada, with meteorologists suspecting that diluted smoke from the fires has reached the country due to prevailing winds blowing from west to east.
Thelma Dórey Pálmadóttir, age 14, fell ill while visiting the Geldingadalir eruption on Easter Sunday. She was one of ten people who reported symptoms. The explanation from doctors is that it was probably volcanic gas poisoning.
"Just when I get into the machine, I just manage to sit in the seat and then the body of the excavator fills with slush and presses me against the window and then presses the whole machine off the road into the valley."
Queens are usually out and about at this time of year feeding up on nectar and preparing to nest for the summer. Things are disappointingly quiet this spring, and last summer’s endless rain is the likely reason.
Weather warnings for northern gales and heavy rainfall that swept through the country yesterday expired last night. The weather was accompanied by heavy precipitation, snow or sleet, and widespread winter conditions on the roads.
The thermometer at the main visitor centre in Þingvellir National Park went all the way down to –9.6°C last night and meteorologists confirm that is one of the coldest temperatures ever recorded in a built-up area at this time of year—and could even have been a new record.
Suspended particulates' concentration in the capital area was high today due to a sandstorm on the desert sands of South Iceland, the city of Reykjavik warned at noon.
The death of one of the bottlenose whales that have been entertaining residents and visitors in Akureyri was confirmed this weekend.
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