At the Akureyri weather station, which we use for Akureyri, the warmest month is July (average high 15.1 °C) and the coldest February and December (average low −3.6 °C), averaged over 1991–2020. The wettest month is October (74 mm of rain). Across Iceland, the quietest month for visitors in 2025 was December.
Akureyri weather by month
Averages for 1991–2020 at the Akureyri weather station (23 m above sea level), from the WMO climate normals, next to each month's share of Iceland's tourist nights (Eurostat, 2025) in 2025. The shares are for the whole of Iceland, not Akureyri alone. These are long-term averages, not a forecast. A rainy day is one with at least 1 mm of rain.
| Month | Average high | Average low | Rain | Rainy days | Daylight on the 15th | Share of 2025 (Iceland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 2.7 °C | −3.5 °C | 60 mm | 11.1 days | 4 h 45 min | 3.9% |
| February | 2.6 °C | −3.6 °C | 52 mm | 10.2 days | 8 h 25 min | 5.3% |
| March | 3.5 °C | −2.6 °C | 47 mm | 9.9 days | 11 h 40 min | 6.2% |
| April | 6.6 °C | −0.3 °C | 26 mm | 6.7 days | 15 h 20 min | 5.4% |
| May | 10.3 °C | 3.2 °C | 24 mm | 5.9 days | 19 h 5 min | 6.6% |
| June | 13.7 °C | 6.6 °C | 21 mm | 4.9 days | 23 h 5 min | 11.7% |
| July | 15.1 °C | 8.5 °C | 34 mm | 7.7 days | 20 h 40 min | 17.3% |
| August | 14.8 °C | 7.9 °C | 41 mm | 8.1 days | 16 h 45 min | 15.8% |
| September | 11.8 °C | 5.4 °C | 53 mm | 9.4 days | 13 h 5 min | 11.0% |
| October | 6.6 °C | 1.1 °C | 74 mm | 11.7 days | 9 h 40 min | 7.8% |
| November | 3.6 °C | −2.1 °C | 68 mm | 10.9 days | 6 h | 4.9% |
| December | 2.6 °C | −3.6 °C | 73 mm | 12.0 days | 3 h 10 min | 3.9% |
Golden hour
Evening golden hour is our calculation for the 15th of each month of 2026: the time the sun takes to go from 6° above to 4° below the horizon (there is no official definition). A dash means the band has no evening start or end that day, for example when the sun never climbs 6° above the horizon or never sinks 4° below it.
The quietest and busiest months
In 2025, December was Iceland's quietest month (3.9% of the year's tourist nights): at Akureyri's station that month averages a high of 2.6 °C, a low of −3.6 °C and 73 mm of rain. July was the busiest (17.3%): average high 15.1 °C, average low 8.5 °C, 34 mm of rain. The visitor figures are for the whole country, and they do not show that the weather makes a month busier or quieter, so we do not say it does.
What these figures are
One weather station stands for Akureyri; places nearby can differ, especially by height or distance from the sea. For the rest of Iceland, including regions and holidays, see our Iceland page; for other places, the weather by city list and golden hour by place.
Key takeaways
- Warmest month: July (average high 15.1 °C); coldest: February and December (average low −3.6 °C).
- Wettest month: October (74 mm); driest: June (21 mm).
- In 2025, December was Iceland's quietest month for visitors and July the busiest.
Sources
Weather normals from the WMO 1991–2020 dataset; daylight and golden hour are our calculations; tourism shares are the country's, from Eurostat. See how we research.
- Weather: WMO Member Nations (2023). WMO Climatological Standard Normals for 1991-2020 (NCEI Accession 0253808), version 6.6, station Akureyri (station ID 00004063), mean daily maximum and minimum temperature, precipitation and number of days with at least 1 mm of precipitation, normals computed from at least 24 years. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. doi:10.25921/800j-vn07. Accessed 24 September 2026. Released by NOAA under CC0.
- Daylight: our calculation of the time from sunrise to sunset on the 15th of each month of 2026 at the weather station's location, by the method of the NOAA Solar Calculator (NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, “Solar Calculation Details”, based on Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms, allowing 0.833° for refraction and the size of the sun). Read it. Checked 22 September 2026. NOAA notes that calculated times can differ from what is observed.
- Source: Eurostat, Nights spent at tourist accommodation establishments – monthly data, doi:10.2908/TOUR_OCC_NIM, accessed 25 September 2026. Dataset last updated by Eurostat on 22 September 2026. Extract: number of nights, NACE codes I55.1–I55.3, all guests and split by guests resident in the country and abroad, January–December 2025.
Modified data: the rounding, the arrangement, the daylight, golden-hour and sea columns and the quietest/busiest comparison are ours, from the cited figures.