Driving during a Winter Storm in Iceland

About the video:
Taken during our trip to Iceland in Winter. The events occurred when we were returning from Diamond Beach to Reykjavik. We were not sure about the Yellow weather alert when we started but weather changes very quickly in Iceland. We were driving a 4WD off-road mini SUV rented from Blue Car Rental.
Other videos from this trip if you are interested:
Iceland Scenery A Short Video: • Iceland in Winter - A ...
Iceland Scenic Drive: • Scenic Iceland Drive i...
Iceland's Scenery: • Iceland Scenery in Win...
Editing:
All these videos were shot simply on iPhone and basic editing of merging them was done with iMovie. No enhancement editing was done to actual footage.

[@timothyhedrick5295]

Going for the first time in three months in mid-April 2024 and so excited! Thanks for sharing this. And thanks to all the Icelanders below who commented with driving and other tips.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Enjoy your trip. Glad you liked the video. Cheers !!!

[@orvarsigurgeirsson469]

Tip from a native: please refrain from turning on the hazard lights when driving in these conditions (you could see cars in the video driving with hazard lights on, probably tourists, guessing by the car brands). It helps no-one and you are not more visible. Instead turn on the fog lights and of course have the headlights on at all times (it's required by Icelandic traffic laws). Only use the hazard lights to indicate a stationary vehicle that might block traffic and/or that you need help. And if you are just stopping at the side of the road to take a picture, turn on the turn signal, not the hazard lights !! :)

[@leftitbehind7781]

Thank you and this makes sense.

[@pierrecrz7207]

Well noticed for my upcoming trip,... événement if I hope to not meet this kind of weather 😅

[@KapilPeraka]

good tip, thanks

[@guillaume8437]

Ooooooooh memories! I remember when I went there in late december 2012. I saw these carpets of snow flowing from one side of the street to the other. We tried Reykjavik to Akureyri but we were stopped by high levels of snow maybe 30min before the destination. We had to go back and we then tried the same trip but by airplane.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Ah that sound like a lot of driving and taking airplane again with storm impacting just 30 minutes before destination.

[@Abilovesjack]

Drove thru similar scenario two weeks ago in NE Iceland. Solo. The most terrifying experience ever. I had to camp on the side of the road. Illegal camping be damned, let them arrest me I thought and I will be safe. Lesson learned: pay attention to weather warning. Thanks for the video. I can show my fam how it was like driving in Iceland blizzard.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Glad you enjoyed the video although it's not necessarily a good memory from past :)

[@robbeyroad6148]

Man, what a crazy experience! We had something very similar ourselves, we went to Iceland on February and planned to spend one entire day driving from Grundarfjordur to Höfn. Everything was fine until exiting the tunnel before Saurbær, where we started having some strong winds, it looked a lot like 1:00. The weather was still sunny and fine though, but my girlfriend who was driving started to feel uneasy, so I decided to replace her. We passed Reykjavik and Selfoss without any problem (but pretty slowly though because of the conditions), and this is where they started to worsen. At one point, actually the bridge with the intersection for the Vestmann Islands, the road was blocked by a policeman who told us that because of the weather we couldn't go further and needed to go back. We managed to return to Hella, but damn, half of the drive (~10/15km) was exactly like at 1:50. No visibility at all for entire minutes, with a slippery road even while driving at 5km/h, and needless to say that leaving the road = ending stuck in the snow and storm. That being said, our initial booking at Höfn being replaced by another one at Loa's Nest in Hella ended up being one of the most amazing experiences of our trip! The owner is absolutely adorable, the rooms are perfect and he offers delicious pancakes and waffles for breakfast 😄If anyone has to stop there, I highly recommend this place! Another interesting fact: the storm lasted for an entire day and we only managed to leave Hella the day after, at 4PM! Everyone should be aware that travelling to Iceland during winter means that your plans can drastically change because of the weather.

[@TheMrTxM]

We have experienced the same situation. So we know how it feels. We were extremely happy when we got to the next village. Recovering from our event, everyone was acting like this was normal. It helped us get out of our 'shock'. We immediately booked a hotel and enjoyed it. Now we know the power of nature..

[@leftitbehind7781]

Yeah its crazy how powerful these natural scenarios are.

[@Hannah6u6]

Exactly the same conditions my friend and I had - we were in a VW Polo and had no idea at one stage if we were driving on water or road haha ​@@leftitbehind7781

[@edohare8536]

We encountered these same conditions last week, also between Diamond beach and Selfoss -- couldn't go further, road to Reykjavik was closed! Can't wait to go back!

[@leftitbehind7781]

Hope you guys made it back safely.

[@JyothiVummiti]

What a terrifying but amazing experience.. Can’t wait to go there again 😊

[@leftitbehind7781]

🤞

[@willprae2992]

One of the most terrifying but most fondly remembered times of my life! And still better than driving against people haha

[@leftitbehind7781]

LOL for this statement "And still better than driving against people"

[@KapilPeraka]

LOL

[@rm6bm318]

This very same thing happened to us yesterday when driving back from the golden circle to Reykjavik. It was terrifying! You have managed to capture it really well in this vid

[@leftitbehind7781]

Credit goes to my wife for taking this video even in panic mode :)

[@catherine_becker]

Oh wow! Thanks for posting this. I drove through a yellow weather warning on my first day in Iceland. I was alone and so wished someone could film that. Mine wasn't as terrifying zero visibility as yours, but still ... never drove during a weather warning again!

[@leftitbehind7781]

All credit goes to my wife for the video as somehow she was able to pull it together in panic mode and still take video.

[@MeganMarieT]

Wow! It’s so cool how the snow blows across the road. I’d be terrified though haha

[@leftitbehind7781]

Hehe yeah, we were terrified as well for the first 2 times but somehow managed the rest well.

[@robertlanger3637]

I just came back myself. We experienced a full white out and made it through. I feel the panic in this video.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Glad you made it through.

[@brucewrght2164]

Drove many times in a normal winter day out on the loop around Iceland. You are prepared for that stuff, dressed for it, carry a satellite phone.

[@mariijapalazovska7934]

Thank you for your video. It's great.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Glad you liked it!

[@ml5287]

i was laughting all the video , thx for sharing guys

[@leftitbehind7781]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@roryskelly3533]

Been there back in 1987 white out conditions forced to pull over!

[@leftitbehind7781]

yeah weather is little scary in Iceland

[@senthilmurughan7720]

I felt like travelling along with you sitting inside the car....amazing video...

[@leftitbehind7781]

Glad you liked it

[@landinh9718]

Thanks for the video which I watched while listening to Max Richter's November at the same time. Great combination.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@popholidays]

Wow. Immagini spettacolari! Fantastico 👍

[@leftitbehind7781]

Thank you

[@TraustiGeir]

I have to applaud you guys for how you handled these conditions: Driving carefully and staying calm. Exemplary driving! I'm glad this didn't become a stain on your holiday here.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Thank you. We somehow managed it 😊

[@KapilPeraka]

Yeah it was pretty amazing to have steady hands in this situation

[@user-nw6qp1ki2n]

What a serene country Iceland 🇮🇸💙 Let alone that Bobby Fischer, the best ever chess player, is resting there eternally 💚 Rest In Peace Bobby, the legend❤️

[@leftitbehind7781]

Iceland sure is something else :)

[@beardedyaker9767]

We are cocoa beachers here! Lol Heading out in December. We’re happy you mentioned being from Florida. It seems like a whole new world over there!

[@leftitbehind7781]

Yeah but as long as you are prepared you should be good to go. Sorry for the late reply. Was swamped up with office work.

[@marianaabreu4286]

💞

[@leftitbehind7781]

:)

[@mickyp3357]

I was there in that situation only a few weeks ago on that same road I believe. The southern route (1) between Selfoss and Vik?! The crosswind driven, sporadic blizzard conditions were hurendous but kinda fun in a challengingly dangerous kind of way. Now, I put my headlights and fog lights on too. But when near stationary or about 10 kph, 'everyone' had their hazards on, tourists or not! In a white hire car such as mine with white headlights, surely blinking yellow hazard lights stand out more in the white out conditions anyway?! Better being as visible as possible than have one of those many eagerly driven, fully laiden impatient tourist coaches ram you up the backside, or front ways even eh?!! Oh it was such scarey fun and done all on my lonesome too!! Not supprisingly I didn't video it myself!, so watching it brings back such fond memories of my Icelandic trip : p. Thank you : )

[@leftitbehind7781]

yeah the weather changes are kind of so sudden. I am glad you made it out of it safe and enjoyed this video :)

[@morgansodergren3075]

This reminds me when I drove over there the roads were getting closed at the same time 😮

[@leftitbehind7781]

Yeah weather changes very quickly there

[@alaajabal691]

Really amazing 🤠

[@leftitbehind7781]

Yeah and scary ;)

[@yusufalipatel5907]

Very cool. Were you driving with your hazard lights on? Looked like other drivers were doing the same but not sure if that's just the flicker from the camera.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Yes we also had hazard lights on.

[@randyhess260]

No different then Wisconsin we have that all the time, looking forward to our upcoming trip there.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Enjoy your trip

[@noahcorcoran3263]

What are some of your best tips? Visiting from FL in November, renting a Land Cruiser. I have driven through some pretty rough storms with 40-50+ wind and rain in Florida, but never a full on winter storm like that.

[@leftitbehind7781]

I think one mistake we did was to not check the weather constantly. We could have adjusted out plan if we did that instead of going through some of these scary moments. Driving wise to be frank, I was just driving slowly and stopping whenever I could. Other thank that I don't have my tips. Have fun and stay safe.

[@jotunmey]

Use the 4x4 always outside city limits and in the city if there is ice or snow and in roundabouts the inner lane has right, outer gives way. Stay safe, don't do stupid stuff and enjoy your trip :)

[@eermiss]

Good handling - stopping felt super scary. What were the speeds of the wind that day? Had you checked?

[@leftitbehind7781]

I don't remember the exact number but it was Yellow weather alert and it almost felt at time like the car was going to flip out.

[@jaycee330]

@@leftitbehind7781 Looks to be about 25-30m/s, maybe peaking at 35.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Probably. looks like you are very familiar with Iceland conditions. Are you from Iceland?

[@jaycee330]

@@leftitbehind7781 I have visited and driven there about 5 years ago.

[@rufeilrahtieh7885]

Seen it worse, but understand those who have not experience this situation.

[@leftitbehind7781]

Yeah I can imagine it being normal for people live up North US or Canada. Even we were fine after facing couple of these but the first one was scary

[@helengiallombardo4077]

What month of the year? What hour of the day? I’d be most afraid of running out of daylight.

[@leftitbehind7781]

It was January and the video spanned across afternoon till night. We didn't capture the night shot but as we were close to hotel we had that experience as well

[@visas_y_viajes]

In winter is 24h dark. And people still having to work and take kids to school, and living their life. I live in Iceland

[@giavel6832]

i've been through this for miles, but in night time! no light at all!

[@leftitbehind7781]

OMG. I can only imagine how it was with no light. Glad you made it back safe.

[@nathanhannah9664]

Looks like a usual snow storm in Wyoming.

[@leftitbehind7781]

yeah people living in up north USA its probably business as usual

[@samalass466]

Please do not stop on the side of the road.

[@leftitbehind7781]

We weren't sure what to do with visibility gone so stopped the car with emergency lights on

[@carlbutts6663]

@@leftitbehind7781 NEVER ever stop. you WILL be hit from behind

[@leftitbehind7781]

@@carlbutts6663 Yeah realized it later. That was panic reaction at that time

[@vasilicastoica8396]

Ai fost singur in masina?

[@leftitbehind7781]

I wasn’t alone. My wife was with me

[@joelmadrid2193]

"PANAMA RELOCATION TOUR'S! WITH JACKIE!👍👍"

[@leftitbehind7781]

Hmm not sure what that means

[@carlbutts6663]

You are the exact person i do NOT want to encounter while driving in winter. Stopping on the middle of the highway? are you nuts?!

[@leftitbehind7781]

That was panic reaction I guess. We were not sure what do when there was no visibility

[@jaycee330]

The problem is there is no "side of the road". The road drops off at the shoulders most of the time.

[@visas_y_viajes]

You can't do more than that. I live in Iceland, before to have to stop the car because you are scared of the weather, make sure that there is not any alert.

[@carlbutts6663]

@@jaycee330 doesnt matter you drive until there is a turn off. in which case you have to shut your lights OFF or else people will still run into you because they follow the taillights. Trust me ive driven through far worse

[@whichwayisup7171]

@@carlbutts6663 this sounds like horrible advice. In these conditions it’s better to stop as others will be going slow as well. If your hazard lights are on they can see you and react