“I wouldn’t have been on the road if there had been an avalanche warning in effect,” says a woman who fell victim to an avalanche along Flateyrarvegur in the Westfjords on Friday. The avalanche-prone road is not currently monitored, but Vegagerðin is now looking at improvements.
The average temperature was higher than normal in all parts of the country and in Reykjavík November was warmer than October.
It rained solidly in Reykjavík from 15.00 on Friday and most of Saturday, and it was heavy rain by any standard, according to meteorologist Einar Sveinbjörnsson. Around 80 mm of rain had fallen by the end of the soaking—which is slightly higher than the average for the entire month of November.
A considerable number of the herring catch that’s been landed in recent days has been found to be infected. As such, almost all of it will be incinerated. Note, according to Fisheries Information and Resource System (FIRMS) the infection rate of herring with Ichthyophonus in Iceland was estimated to be 32% in the in the winter 2008/2009.
The latest group to feel the ongoing effect of Iceland’s poor summer weather this year is the country’s bird population. With few berries and seeds on trees and bushes in the southern half of the country, experts worry for the birds’ survival this winter.
Grain harvests in North Iceland this autumn do not look encouraging, farmers say. A frost in late August damaged the corn and wet weather in the autumn has delayed harvests.
Two bird species that breed in the northernmost parts of the world are currently on a rare visit to Iceland as they make their way south for the winter.
Three farmed salmon have been caught in the Westfjords this season. Farmed salmon have a tendency to swim up rivers later in the season than wild salmon, meaning the true number of escapees may not be apparent until the end of the fishing season.
A marine biologist at the Marine and Freshwater Research institute who specializes in whales says that it’s rare for pilot whales to venture so far north, but said that it’s possible that the pilot whales' appearance in Iceland’s waters can be credited to warming ocean temperatures.
A lone hiker in East Iceland found a wandering walrus, and managed to snap some fantastic photos.
Nine whales have been stranded so far this year in East Iceland. Bottlenose whales and Curvier’s beaked whales are members of the family Ziphiidae and it’s often been said that they are more sensitive to noise pollution in the ocean.
An unusually high number of northern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon ampullatus) have been sighted in fjords in North and East Iceland.
But an Icelandic whale-watching crew spotted the right whale named Mogul three times this week, leaving a research scientist wondering why the animal ventured so far.
The landslide is thought to be the largest that has ever occurred in Iceland. Experts say that the uncommonly wet summer weather is to blame for the event.
A mere 71 hours of sunshine were recorded in the capital last month.
A nest belonging to a brent (Brant) goose was found last week around Bessastaðanes peninsula, where the presidential residence is located.
According to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, pollen levels are considerably above the average for this time of year, causing considerable irritation for those with pollen allergies.
This May is the rainiest on record for Reykjavík.
At the time of the encounter, Einar had been line fishing for a while. He and his boatmate had just been talking about how many whales were around.
Puffins are an endangered species, whose numbers have declined largely due to climate change and overfishing.
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