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© Ívar Kristjánsson
The weather in Iceland remains turbulent this week and the Westfjords region is worst affected. There is an orange weather warning in effect and the north-easterly storm with heavy snow will continue into tomorrow. The orange warning remains in effect until 20.00 this evening.

The Coastguard vessel Týr is arriving in Flateyri as a precaution, as the village is on avalanche alert; as is Patreksfjörður. Some residential properties in both communities have been evacuated as a precaution, and some industrial buidlings in Ísafjörður have been evacuated for the same reason.

According to the Icelandic Met Office, there has also been a strong easterly wind affecting the north and east, with significant precipitation in East Iceland. South Iceland has gentler southerly winds with scattered sleet and rain showers but plenty of sunshine in between.




Northeast Iceland is expected to become windier for a time this afternoon before things calm down overnight. Tomorrow (Wednesday) should be relatively calm in all parts of Iceland.

Thursday's weather forecast looks good and it should be an ideal day to enjoy some outdoor recreation before the next low pressure system moves in for the weekend.

Residents in the Westfjords report snow drifts to the tops of doors in the latest in a string of storms to bring heavy snowfall this winter. Clearing paths and driveways has been unusually challenging this winter and municipalities' snow ploughing budgets in many parts of the country are running very low.


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Huge snowdrift against a residential building in Flateyri, Iceland.
At the time of writing, all roads in the Westfjords are impassable or outright closed. This includes the roads near Súðavík and Flateyri that are closed due to avalanche risk.

Most of Route 1 is open, though Vatnsskarð in the northwest is closed and Holtavörðuheiði, also in the northwest, is very difficult to pass.

snow
© Ívar Kristjánsson