Reykjavík (Iceland) weather by month

The weather in Reykjavík is notoriously unpredictable. One minute the sun may be shining on a nice summers day, the next it may change into a windy, rainy autumn. Temperatures in Reykjavík are quite bland: they don't go very high in the summer, nor do they go much below zero during winter. It follows that the differences between seasons are relatively small compared to what people experience on either side of the Atlantic. January is the coldest month and usually has some snow, while there is frequently no snow on the ground during Christmas in December. Summer is without a doubt the favorite season of most Reykjavík inhabitants. Many of them seem to imagine their city is slightly warmer than it really is and it takes little to get them to start wearing shorts and t-shirts, or to go sunbathing in parks. Don't think too much about how silly it may seem, just join them in enjoying the season! Wind is the main problem with the Reykjavík weather.…

Forum regulars describe January as averaging around freezing but wildly variable day to day - anywhere from -10C to 10C, with snow, sleet, hail and rain all possible, sometimes simultaneously, often with high wind. Daylight is the other defining fact: roughly 5-6 hours depending on the exact date, with about an hour of usable twilight on either end. Tour operators plan itineraries around this deliberately, timing pickups and drop-offs so you're at outdoor attractions during the daylight window even if you leave and return to Reykjavik in the dark. Layered, wind- and waterproof clothing with waterproof footwear is the standard packing advice.

Forum posters describe February as usually snowy and cold, with one blunt 'reality check' thread calling it the coldest month of the year and warning of the possibility of storms - it's rain, sunshine and snow all in one day being a genuinely normal occurrence rather than an outlier. Daylight stays limited, sun up around 10am and down by 5-6pm, so posters plan full-day itineraries around that shorter window rather than assuming a long afternoon. The clear upside repeatedly cited: February is a strong month for Northern Lights viewing precisely because the nights are still long and dark, and posters consistently say the trade-off is worth it as long as you pack proper warm, waterproof layers and stay flexible with plans.

March scores badly and I'd still go. Aurora nights are long, the days are back to a usable seven hours, and prices are pre-season. The number that matters isn't temperature, it's wind — 20 m/s off the harbour turns 0°C into something else entirely. Rent the car with the gravel and wind-door insurance.

June gives more than twenty hours of sun here and no real darkness at all around the solstice, just a long dusk - our daylight column says 20.8 hours. The temperature is the part people underestimate. Regulars quote the mid to high fifties Fahrenheit; one who came at the end of June reports upper forties and low fifties and a lot of wind. Our row sits between them at 12.2C reading as 10C, with nights at 7.3C feeling like 4C in a 19 kph wind. Rain falls 86.2mm across 15 days. Layers with a windproof and waterproof shell, and the hoodie stays on in the evening. The record: humidity 79 percent, a 9.9C sea and AQI 34.

I feel bad for every tourist in Iceland who comes in July. Did you do no research at all? Rain in Reykjavík in July is worse than the cold in San Francisco in July and SF in July is the coldest place on earth.

July is the easy answer: everything open, the highland F-roads finally passable, daylight until midnight. Just don't expect warm — 13°C and horizontal drizzle is a normal July afternoon, and the campervans book out months ahead.

August is Iceland's best-weather month on the record — around 14°C, long light, and one of the busiest, only just behind July. It is not aurora season, and the forum is precise about why rather than simply saying no: by late August the sky does get dark enough for a short window in the middle of the night, and people do occasionally see them in the final days of the month, but the odds of clear sky and solar activity both landing inside that narrow window are slim. Most tours do not start until after 15 September. Peak season runs September to March, with the equinoxes the sweet spots. Treat lights in August as a bonus rather than the reason to come.

Reykjavik forum regulars are consistent that wind and rain, not cold, are what actually get you in September: “it is not the cold in general that gets you, it is the strong winds and the rain,” with a genuinely wind- and waterproof outer layer called the single most important item to bring. Readings run “low 50s°F during the day and mid 40s at night” typically, though “glorious sunshine and temperatures in the 20°C range” does happen on a lucky day. Mid-September sits deep in shoulder season — you'll have all the places to yourself as summer crowds thin, but some attractions and hotels start closing for the season around the first or second week. A cold night can bring a dusting of snow at the mountain passes or in the north. Our record: 10.7°C days, 5.9°C nights, 18.6 rain days, 0.9cm of snow and a 21.9kph wind — cool, wet and windy, matching the “wind and rain, not cold, is the real story” read.