Iceland Glacier Weather, Month by Month

Hours, prices and access verified by the Iceland Glacier Tours team — last checked 2026-09-23.

Weather decides what you do on the ice, not whether you go. Hikes run in almost anything, while caves need cold and kayaks need calm. The figures below are the Icelandic Met Office’s own station means, for any Iceland glacier day tour from Skaftafell or Reykjavík.

What the weather does to a glacier tour

The hikes go out in the weather. One Tröll listing says it operates in all weather conditions, another in most, and both ask you to dress for it. Rain does not stop a glacier hike. Wind is what stops things, and the kayak and snowmobile legs are the first to go.

When the operator calls a tour off, ask for another date or your money back. One traveller’s kayak leg was cancelled for wind and the hike moved to the next morning. Every tour here also refunds in full if you cancel 24 hours ahead, so you can watch the forecast and decide.

Temperature matters most underground. The natural ice caves form and stay safe only in the cold months, and the park kept them closed through October 2024. That is why a cave in summer is not on offer here.

Iceland Glacier weather month by month

Each month gives the Öræfi mean and mean maximum from station 745 near Skaftafell, precipitation from the Skaftafell station itself, and sunshine hours from Reykjavík. Precipitation counts rain and snow together.

Iceland Glacier weather in January

Öræfi averages 1.1 °C, with highs near 3.9 °C. Skaftafell gets about 177 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 23 hours of sun. Cave season. Skaftafellsstofa opens 10:00 to 17:00. The park advises crampons on paths and winter tyres.

Iceland Glacier weather in February

Öræfi averages 0.7 °C, with highs near 3.7 °C. Skaftafell gets about 178 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 62 hours of sun. The coldest month on the Öræfi record. Caves and hikes both run. Expect ice on the car park as well as the glacier.

Iceland Glacier weather in March

Öræfi averages 1.4 °C, with highs near 4.4 °C. Skaftafell gets about 132 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 110 hours of sun. Sunshine in the capital nearly doubles on February. The visitor centre opens at 09:00 again. Caves still run.

Iceland Glacier weather in April

Öræfi averages 3.8 °C, with highs near 7.0 °C. Skaftafell gets about 112 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 165 hours of sun. Spring, in the park's terms. The melt makes trails muddy, and some close. The cave reviews thin out.

Iceland Glacier weather in May

Öræfi averages 6.5 °C, with highs near 9.8 °C. Skaftafell gets about 91 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 209 hours of sun. The driest month at Skaftafell and the sunniest in Reykjavík. Hikes run, caves do not.

Iceland Glacier weather in June

Öræfi averages 9.1 °C, with highs near 12.2 °C. Skaftafell gets about 93 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 190 hours of sun. The visitor centre stays open to 19:00. All areas of the park open as mountain routes clear. No caves.

Iceland Glacier weather in July

Öræfi averages 10.7 °C, with highs near 13.8 °C. Skaftafell gets about 102 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 183 hours of sun. The warmest month, level with August in Öræfi. The park's busiest weeks. Book ahead.

Iceland Glacier weather in August

Öræfi averages 10.7 °C, with highs near 13.9 °C. Skaftafell gets about 131 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 165 hours of sun. The highest average maximum of the year. Rain starts to climb again. Hikes run full timetables.

Iceland Glacier weather in September

Öræfi averages 8.4 °C, with highs near 11.4 °C. Skaftafell gets about 190 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 118 hours of sun. The wettest month at Skaftafell. Autumn sets in and rangers leave the highlands. The Austurbrekkur trail is shut in 2026.

Iceland Glacier weather in October

Öræfi averages 5.0 °C, with highs near 7.8 °C. Skaftafell gets about 156 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 92 hours of sun. Cave contracts start on 1 October. In 2024 the park kept the caves shut all month, so a cave is possible, not certain.

Iceland Glacier weather in November

Öræfi averages 2.5 °C, with highs near 5.1 °C. Skaftafell gets about 140 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 40 hours of sun. The visitor centre closes at 17:00. The cave reviews pick up. Winter tyres again.

Iceland Glacier weather in December

Öræfi averages 1.3 °C, with highs near 4.1 °C. Skaftafell gets about 169 mm of rain and snow. Reykjavík logs 13 hours of sun. The least sunshine of the year in the capital. The visitor centre opens 10:00 to 17:00. Caves run.

The seasons, and which one you want

The park splits the year its own way: spring from April, autumn from September, and a long winter. The table follows that split.

Season	Öræfi mean	Mean maximum	Precipitation a month	Reykjavík sun a month
Winter: November to March	1.4 °C	4.2 °C	About 159 mm	About 50 hours
Spring: April and May	5.2 °C	8.4 °C	About 102 mm	About 187 hours
Summer: June to August	10.2 °C	13.3 °C	About 109 mm	About 179 hours
Autumn: September and October	6.7 °C	9.6 °C	About 173 mm	About 105 hours

Pick winter for a cave. It is cold but not severe on the coast: no month in Öræfi averages below 0.7 °C. What you trade is light and road conditions. Pick summer for the longest days, all areas open and the lagoon in full use. Spring is the quiet, driest window. Autumn is the wettest, and its second half brings the caves back.

For Sólheimajökull, the Vík station reads 0.6 to 1.2 degrees warmer than Öræfi in every month, and it is wetter than Skaftafell in every month: 265 mm in September. The two glaciers share the same broad calendar.

Picked your season?

Hikes run all year on two glaciers and the caves run in the cold months. Compare the fares for your dates.

See the glacier tours Compare every tour

Best time of day

Go in the morning in winter. The light is short and the drive back is on the ring road, so the earlier slot gives you daylight on both. The Langjökull snowmobile from Reykjavík offers a 10:30 and a 13:00 ride. Pick the first between November and February.

In summer, time of day matters less, because the light lasts well into the evening. Pick the slot that suits your drive. Whatever you choose, arrive 20 minutes early at the Tröll bases, because the gear fitting comes first.

Asked about the weather

What happens if the weather is bad?

Most glacier operators run in all or most weather and ask you to dress for it. Wind can still stop part of a day: one traveller's kayak leg was called off and the hike moved to the next morning. If the operator cancels, ask for a new date or your money back.

How cold is it on an Iceland glacier in summer?

In Öræfi, July and August average 10.7 °C, with highs near 14 °C. On the ice it feels colder in the wind off the ice cap. Wear layers you can take off and gloves you can keep on.

What is the wettest month at Skaftafell?

September, at about 190 mm on the Met Office station there. May is the driest, at about 91 mm. Rain rarely stops a hike, so pack waterproofs in any month.

Is the weather at Skaftafell better than elsewhere?

Often, says the park: it sits in the shelter of Öræfajökull and can be much better than the areas around it. That shelter does not reach the ice cap itself. Check the forecast on the Met Office site the evening before.

Does it snow on the glacier in summer?

It can. The park warns that snow can fall in the mountains at any time of year. Pack a warm layer and gloves in every month, not only in winter.

Where do I check the forecast?

The park points you to the Icelandic Met Office at vedur.is for weather and to the road administration at vegagerdin.is for roads. It also suggests leaving your travel plan at safetravel.is. The emergency number is 112.

Where these figures come from

Temperatures are the Icelandic Met Office’s monthly means for station 745, the nearest temperature record to the Skaftafell bases, and they cover 1991 to 2008, when that record ends. Precipitation is station 748 at Skaftafell and sunshine is Reykjavík, both 1991 to 2020. Vík is station 798. The seasons and closures are the national park’s own, read 23 September 2026.

Next: turn a month into a plan with the calendar by activity, read what to wear on the ice, or compare every fare on Iceland Glacier Tours.