The Icelandic Meteorological Office (Vedurstofa Íslands) was founded in 1920, 125 years ago. In addition to weather forecasting, the institution is responsible for issuing warnings related to volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, avalanches, hydrology, and sea ice—along with, of course, the weather. Now, as an unusually severe storm sweeps across the country, the Director of the Meteorological Office, Hildigunnur H. H. Thorsteinsson, and Minister for the Environment, Energy, and Climate, Jóhann Páll Jóhannsson, have introduced a new website: gottvedur.is, which translates to “goodweather.is.” Once fully developed, the site will be integrated into the office’s current website, vedur.is. This new platform is part of a large-scale project aimed at upgrading the institution’s web services and overall technical infrastructure—making the site more modern and user-friendly for Icelanders and travellers alike. After all, the Icelandic Meteorological Office’s website is one of the most visited in the country.
Whether better weather will follow from a better website remains to be seen. But… since gottvedur.is launched, Iceland has seen some of its worst weather in years—across the entire country, which is highly unusual.
Reykjavík 05/02/2025 – A7R IV, RX1R II – FE 1.2/50mm GM, 2.0/35mm Z, FE 1.8/135mm GM, FE 1.4/85mm GM – Images & text: Páll Stefánsson
