Articles

Rockslide in Askja, July 21 2014 - Preliminary results of observations - Veðurstofa Íslands 11.8.2014

In the evening of 21 July 2014, an enormous rockslide occurred in Askja, which descended into the caldera lake. It is one of the largest known rockslides since the settlement of Iceland. The slide triggered a tsunami in the lake that washed up on the lakeshores all around the lake. The wave travelled around 400 m into the flatland SE of the crater Víti. It was fortunate that the rockslide occurred late at night and nobody was close to the water, otherwise it would have been extremely hazardous. A few hours earlier, tens of people were at the lakeshore who might not have been able to escape the tsunami.

Avalanche notices on the web - an improved map - Jóhanna M. Thorlacius 19.2.2014

Real-time information about snowpack conditions, recent avalanches and avalanche danger is part of IMO's monitoring. Information about avalanches reported during the last ten days is now presented on the web in the form of an interactive map and a table. People are encouraged to report avalanches that they come across using a specific internet form.

Avalanche web map viewer - Jóhanna M. Thorlacius 15.3.2013

The Icelandic Met Office has developed an experimental avalanche web map viewer aimed at easing access of the public and specialists to the avalanche data gathered and processed within the institute. The current edition of this viewer features information on snow depth, risk zones, evacuation zones, and past avalanches.

Avalanche danger scale - Veðurstofa Íslands 17.1.2013

In this article a new avalance forecast is introduced. A specific map is presented for each of three selected high risk areas. A comment on overall avalanche conditions in Iceland and a general weather forecast in terms of avalanche danger is given in English. It should be kept in mind that the avalanche forecast is written for large areas and does not necessarily represent avalanche danger in urban areas.