Climate - Akureyri (Iceland)

The climate of Akureyri is subpolar oceanic, with cold winters and very cool summers.
Akureyry is Iceland's second city, and is located on the northern coast, but within a fjord.
Akureyri's latitude is 65°41'N. On the shortest days of the year, around December 15-20, the day lasts about 3 hours. On the longest days of the year, around June 20, the sun sets for about half an hour, even though the sunset lights remain. In any case, the white nights, in which it does not become completely dark, occur from April 23rd and until August 20th.
The average temperature of the coldest month (January) is of -1.2 °C (30 °F), that of the warmest month (July) is of 11.8 °C (53 °F). Here are the average temperatures.

Precipitation amounts to 485 millimeters (19.1 inches) per year: it is therefore quite scarce. It ranges from 20 mm (0.8 in) in the driest month (May) to 60 mm (2.4 in) in the wettest (October). We are in fact in the driest area of Iceland. Here is the average precipitation.

As is typical of Iceland, the weather is often unstable and windy.
In winter, there can be relatively mild periods, in which the temperature reaches 7/8 °C (44.5/46.5 °F), but sometimes even 10/11 °C (50/52 °F). On the other hand, winds from the north pole or from Greenland can bring freezing periods of three or four days, in which the minimum temperature reaches about -15 °C (5 °F). The coldest record is -23 °C (-9.5 °F), recorded in March 1969. From 2001 to 2020, the lowest value was -18.5 °C (-1.3 °F), recorded in January 2002.
It usually snows from October to April or early May, but the elevations around the city remain snow-capped even in summer.
The summer is very cool, and sometimes even cold, especially in June. The rains are quite frequent, although not abundant. However, there can be very mild periods of two or three days, in which the temperature reaches or exceeds 20 °C (68 °F). The highest record is 29.4 °C (85 °F), recorded in June 1974, but it was a very rare case, actually, perhaps the data is incorrect, the fact is that from 2001 to 2020, the highest temperature has been 25 °C (77 °F), recorded in July 2008.



On average, there are around 1,045 sunshine hours per year. So, the sun doesn't shine often. From November to January, the sun is practically never seen, also because the days are very short. Here are the average sunshine hours per day.

The sea temperature ranges between 3 °C (37 °F) and 8 °C (46 °F). So, it is very cold all year round. Here are the average sea temperatures.

Best Time

The best time to visit Akureyri is the summer, from June to August, since it is the mildest season. However, there are often cloudy skies, rain and a bit of cold. Therefore, it is advisable to bring a jacket and a sweater even in the height of summer.