Driving in Iceland in the winter should not be taken lightly. Weather conditions can change quickly and have a drastic impact on the road conditions. Before planning your winter trip to Iceland, it's important to understand the type of conditions you may encounter, and how to read and understand the weather and road conditions reports.
It's important to understand that there can be two statuses to look at. First are the road conditions, indicated by a color code. Second are weather modifiers, indicated by a yellow symbol on top of the road. An easily passable road or one with spots of ice during storm conditions can be extremely challenging to drive.
The road conditions can also change quickly, what was once a relatively easy to drive road can deteriorate to a sheet of ice in a matter of moments.
This video is an example of some of the different conditions roughly matched to the road.is definitions for road and weather conditions.
Visit www.road.is for more information and up to date road conditions.
00:00 - Summary
00:16 - Easily Passable + Blowing / Shifting Snow
00:58 - Spots of Ice
01:07 - Snow
01:25 - Snow + Snow Showers
01:38 - Snow + Blowing / Shifting Snow
01:48 - Wet Snow + Snow Showers
01:57 - Snow
02:01 - Slippery
02:10 - Spots of Ice
02:21 - Extremely Slippery
02:59 - Spots of Ice + Storm Conditions
03:17 - Difficult Conditions + Blizzard
03:26 - Easily Passable
03:33 - No Winter Service
04:02 - Impassable