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Reykjavík Harbour sits on the northern edge of the Icelandic capital, on the shore of Faxaflói bay at approximately 64.15°N, 21.94°W, with the open North Atlantic beyond. Exposed directly to the sea, it shares the city's subpolar oceanic climate (Köppen Cfc) — cool, windy, cloudy and mild for its far-northern latitude — with wind and spray a constant presence on the quayside.
Summer, from June to August, is cool and short, with July the warmest month — average highs of only around 13–14°C — and the harbour often breezier and a degree or two cooler than the sheltered streets inland. Around the solstice the sun barely sets, and the long luminous evenings draw crowds to the waterfront, though showers and stiff sea winds can arrive at any hour.
Winter, from December to February, is mild for the latitude thanks to the warm North Atlantic current, with January averaging around 0°C and the bay remaining ice-free. Gales are frequent on the exposed waterfront, driving spray over the quays, and snow alternates with thaw rather than lying deep. Daylight shrinks to only four or five hours around the solstice.
The harbour receives the same 800–900 mm of precipitation a year as the surrounding city, falling on well over 200 days and spread across every month with an autumn and winter maximum; rain, sleet and snow can alternate within a single day under the fast-moving Atlantic depressions. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the harbour are shown in the panels above.
Exposed on Faxaflói bay, Reykjavík's harbour feels the full force of the Atlantic wind, and it is the wind rather than the temperature that most often dictates conditions on the quayside — the same gales that make Icelandic weather so famously changeable. The warm ocean current keeps the bay ice-free year-round despite the subarctic latitude.
To follow any single measurement in Reykjavik Harbor more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.