Record Snowfall Hits Reykjavik, Iceland And Other Nearby Areas! (credit: Meteo Europe)

DISCUSSION: As a reasonably strong low pressure system moved across the North Atlantic Ocean over the past 24 to 48 hours, there was history in the making.  To be more specific, there was a record snowfall for the month of February reported in Reykjavik, Iceland.  To be more precise, the snow depth was measured at 51 cm (or 20.08 inches) at 9:00 AM Atlantic Standard Time (AST) on Sunday morning (February 26) in the capital city of Iceland which breaks the record of 48 cm (or 18.90 inches) recorded back in February of 1952.  As you can see from the images above (captured the morning after the heaviest recent snowfall occurred), there was most certainly very substantial snowfall accumulated on the ground.  It is not common to see heavy snowfall across Iceland since extra-tropical cyclones which move through this part of the North Atlantic Ocean change the character of their impacts during the course of their existence.  For example, the heaviest precipitation from previously classic Nor'easters often weakens in intensity over far northern sections of the North Atlantic Ocean and therefore does not often reach areas such as Iceland.  

To learn more about other high-impact winter weather events from around the world, be sure to click here!

©2017 Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz