Much of Iceland is digging out following a potent blizzard that brought winds topping 100 mph and yards of snow to some areas amid what one Icelandic meteorologist referred to as a “10-year storm.” As many as 20,000 people are without power as temperatures tumble into the teens and 20s, with a few communities isolated.
The storm was so severe that it prompted the Icelandic Met Office to issue an unprecedented “red alert.”
“This was the first red alert we’ve issued with the new system, (which has been) used since 2017,” said Hrafn Gudmundsson, a meteorologist with the Icelandic Met Office. “We’ve basically only been using yellow and orange colors. The orange color was for pretty serious storms, but this one was a level higher, I would say.”
The red alert was hoisted for northern parts of the country, while orange-level warnings covered the country’s capital, Reykjavik. The storm’s most intense impact struck on Tuesday.