Iceland Weather by Month (2026 Data)

In Iceland, the month on the calendar changes almost everything about a trip. Reykjavík has about 21 hours¹ of daylight in the middle of June and barely 4 hours¹ in late December. January winds average 13.7 mph² (6.1 m/s), half again as strong as July's, and the coldest and warmest months are 20 °F² apart.

Some of the pattern is surprising. The driest month is June, but the wettest is not in deep winter: it is September, with 4.5 inches² of rain. Visitors do not follow the best weather either: August brings 2.6 times³ as many foreign visitors as December. This report uses three decades of Icelandic Met Office measurements and official visitor counts to show what every month is really like, around the country and in Reykjavík, and what each one is best for.

The year at a glance

Averaged across 30 Met Office weather stations for 1991–2020, the year has a simple shape. Temperatures sit near freezing from December to March, rise quickly through April and May, and peak in July at 51 °F² (10.5 °C). Rain does the opposite of what many expect: it is lowest in early summer and highest in September and October. Wind is strongest in winter and weakest in July and August, and daylight swings by about 17 hours between the solstices.

Average weather in Iceland

Over the whole year, the stations average 39 °F² (4.1 °C) and receive 41 inches² (1,042 mm) of rain and snow. The sky is about three-quarters cloudy in every month, averaging 6.1 oktas² out of 8, so clear days are the exception at any time of year. Wind averages between 9.1 mph² in late summer and 13.7 mph² in January.

These are figures for the places where weather stations stand, mostly towns and farms near the coast. The highlands are colder, windier and often wetter, and a single region can differ sharply from the national average, as the rain figures below show.

Month by month

January in Iceland

January averages 32 °F² (−0.1 °C) with 3.9 inches² of rain and snow and the strongest winds of the year, 13.7 mph². Afternoons average 37 °F² and nights fall to 27 °F² on average. Reykjavík gets about 5.3 hours¹ of daylight by mid-month, and 121,590³ foreign visitors came in January 2025.

Average weather in Iceland in February

February averages 31 °F² (−0.5 °C), with 3.5 inches² (90 mm) of precipitation, wind of 13.6 mph² and about 8.5 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 36 °F² and nights fall to 26 °F² on average. Days lengthen fast, from about 8 hours of light in mid-February.

Average weather in Iceland in March

March averages 32 °F² (0.0 °C), with 3.4 inches² (87 mm) of precipitation, wind of 13.2 mph² and about 11.6 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 37 °F² and nights fall to 27 °F² on average. Still winter by the Met Office's definition, but daylight passes 11 hours.

Average weather in Iceland in April

April averages 36 °F² (2.3 °C), with 2.5 inches² (65 mm) of precipitation, wind of 11.9 mph² and about 15.0 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 42 °F² and nights fall to 31 °F² on average. Precipitation falls by about a quarter from March and the light is back.

Average weather in Iceland in May

May averages 42 °F² (5.5 °C), with 2.5 inches² (63 mm) of precipitation, wind of 11.0 mph² and about 18.3 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 48 °F² and nights fall to 37 °F² on average. Among the driest months, with over 18 hours of daylight.

Average weather in Iceland in June

June averages 48 °F² (8.7 °C), with 2.1 inches² (54 mm) of precipitation, wind of 10.0 mph² and about 21.0 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 54 °F² and nights fall to 42 °F² on average. The driest month of the year and the longest days.

Average weather in Iceland in July

July averages 51 °F² (10.5 °C), with 2.7 inches² (68 mm) of precipitation, wind of 9.1 mph² and about 19.8 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 57 °F² and nights fall to 46 °F² on average. The warmest month, with light winds and the summer crowds.

Average weather in Iceland in August

August averages 50 °F² (10.2 °C), with 3.3 inches² (85 mm) of precipitation, wind of 9.1 mph² and about 16.6 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 57 °F² and nights fall to 45 °F² on average. Almost as warm as July and the busiest month for visitors.

Average weather in Iceland in September

September averages 46 °F² (7.6 °C), with 4.5 inches² (114 mm) of precipitation, wind of 11.0 mph² and about 13.2 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 51 °F² and nights fall to 41 °F² on average. The wettest month, but crowds fall by more than a quarter from August.

Average weather in Iceland in October

October averages 39 °F² (3.7 °C), with 4.4 inches² (112 mm) of precipitation, wind of 11.6 mph² and about 10.0 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 44 °F² and nights fall to 35 °F² on average. Nearly as wet as September, with about 10 hours of daylight.

Average weather in Iceland in November

November averages 34 °F² (1.2 °C), with 4.1 inches² (103 mm) of precipitation, wind of 12.4 mph² and about 6.6 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 39 °F² and nights fall to 29 °F² on average. Wind rises again while the days shrink below 7 hours.

Average weather in Iceland in December

December averages 32 °F² (−0.1 °C), with 4.1 inches² (103 mm) of precipitation, wind of 13.0 mph² and about 4.3 hours¹ of daylight in Reykjavík. Afternoons average 37 °F² and nights fall to 27 °F² on average. The shortest days of the year and the fewest visitors.

Rain in Iceland does not follow the cold.

Rain and snow by month

Precipitation, rain and snow together, is lowest in June at 2.1 inches² (54 mm) and highest in September at 4.5 inches², followed closely by October. From September to January every month brings about 4 inches or more, while April to July stay between 2 and 3 inches.

Where you are matters even more than when. The south coast is by far the wettest part of the country: Vík í Mýrdal records 99 inches² (2,513 mm) a year. The inland northeast is the driest; Grímsstaðir á Fjöllum gets only 15 inches², about a sixth as much.

Iceland seasons by month

The Icelandic Met Office groups the months into four seasons of unequal length. In its yearly climate summaries, summer runs from June to September, winter from December to March, and autumn covers October and November,⁴ which leaves April and May as spring.

Measured that way, winter brings the most precipitation, 14.9 inches² over its four months, and summer 12.7 inches². Two-month autumn delivers 8.5 inches², far more per month than two-month spring at 5.0 inches².

How many seasons does Iceland have

Iceland has four seasons in the Met Office's reckoning, but two of them are short. Summer and winter each last four months, while spring and autumn get two months each. In practice, the long light of the summer months and the long dark of the winter months shape a visit far more than the brief seasons in between.

Daylight and sunshine

Daylight changes more than any other part of Iceland's weather. In Reykjavík the sun is up for about 21 hours¹ on 21 June and about 4 hours¹ on 21 December. Around the equinoxes in late March and late September, day and night are close to equal.

Daylight is not the same as sunshine. Only two stations in the network measure sunshine hours, and the numbers show how cloudy Iceland is. Reykjavík records 209 hours² of sunshine in May, its sunniest month, which is under 7 hours a day out of more than 18 hours of daylight. In December it records just 13 hours² for the whole month. Akureyri in the north gets almost no direct sun in December at all: 0.28 hours².

Average humidity in Iceland

Relative humidity stays high all year, between 76%² and 83%² at the stations that measure it. It is highest in July and August and lowest in April. Cloud cover barely changes with the seasons.

Wind by month

Wind follows the cold half of the year. January and February average 13.7 mph² (6.1 m/s) across the stations, while July and August drop to 9.1 mph². The months with the least daylight are also the windiest.

Reykjavik weather by month

The capital is milder and drier than the country as a whole. Winter months in Reykjavík average just above freezing, and the city receives about 34 inches² (876 mm) of precipitation a year, less than the national station average. It is also sunnier than Akureyri, with 1,368 hours² of sunshine a year against 1,051².

Reykjavik average weather

Over the year, Reykjavík averages 41 °F² (5.1 °C). Its wettest month is December at 3.7 inches² and its driest June at 1.7 inches².

Crowds by month

The weather is only half of the choice; the other half is how many people choose the same month. In 2025, 312,964³ foreign visitors left through Keflavík Airport in August, the busiest month, and 302,057³ in July. December was the quietest with 120,016³, and January nearly as quiet. September, the wettest month, still drew 224,182³ visitors, about 28% fewer³ than August.

Iceland weather by month pros and cons

No month has everything. The table below weighs each month using only the numbers in this report: temperature, precipitation, wind, daylight and visitor counts.

• Most daylight and least rain: June
• Warmest and calmest: July and August, at the price of the biggest crowds
• Quietest months: December and January, with the shortest days and strongest winds
• Wettest months: September and October

Is Iceland getting wetter?

Year-to-year precipitation varies a lot. Rebuilt from the stations with long records, the national figure was about 37.7 inches² in 2023 and 40.3 inches² in 2024. The chart below fits a straight line to every year since 1949 and draws it forward to 2050, with the wide range that such variable years produce.

The Met Office's climate report expects precipitation to rise as Iceland warms, by at least 1.5%⁵ for each degree of warming, with the largest increases in late summer and autumn, the months that are already the wettest.

What the weather means for a trip

Picking a month in Iceland is a trade between light, rain, wind and crowds. June offers the most daylight and the least rain of any month, before the busiest weeks begin. July and August are the warmest and calmest, but August alone brings more than twice December's visitors.

The quieter months ask for a different plan. From November to January, days of 4 to 7 hours of light and the strongest winds of the year leave little time on the road, so shorter drives and flexible days matter. September and October are the wettest months, yet they keep 10 to 13 hours of daylight and far fewer visitors than August. Wherever and whenever you go, the south coast gets several times the rain of the northeast interior, so the route can matter as much as the date.

Conclusions

1. Rain in Iceland peaks in autumn, not in the coldest months. September and October are the wettest, while June is the driest.
2. Light changes far more than temperature. Daylight in Reykjavík swings by about 17 hours between the solstices, while the monthly average temperature moves by only 20 °F.
3. The best-weather months and the busiest months do not match. June, the driest and lightest month, comes before the August crowd peak, and the calmest winds arrive in July and August.
4. Place matters as much as the month. Vík í Mýrdal on the south coast gets about six times the precipitation of Grímsstaðir in the northeast, so two travellers in the same week can have completely different weather.