What the instruments on Öxnadalsheiði and Víkurskarð are measuring right now — road surface temperature included — and where the calmest hours fall over the next three days.
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Akureyri's road out crosses high ground in both directions, and the ground behaves nothing like the town. This page shows what Vegagerðin's roadside instruments on those passes are measuring right now — including the temperature of the road surface itself, which can be below freezing while the air above it is not — and where the calmest hours fall over the next three days, so a drive that doesn't have to happen this afternoon can be moved.
It is not a road report. Whether a road is open is Vegagerðin's answer, and it is linked below.
The road surface is above freezing
Measured 10 minutes ago
The road surface is above freezing
Measured 10 minutes ago
Stretches of 2 hours in the next three days, ranked by the strongest gust the forecast puts anywhere on the route.
Calmest
Monday 10 August, 22:00–0:00
Next calmest
Monday 10 August, 7:00–9:00
Next calmest
Monday 10 August, 4:00–6:00
Gusts in m/s, worst of any pass on the route.
| Hour | Gust | Temp | Rain/snow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 11:00 | 16 m/s | 4°C | 0.6 mm |
| Sat 12:00 | 15 m/s | 5°C | 0.5 mm |
| Sat 13:00 | 14 m/s | 5°C | 0.6 mm |
| Sat 14:00 | 14 m/s | 5°C | 0.6 mm |
| Sat 15:00 | 14 m/s | 5°C | 0.6 mm |
| Sat 16:00 | 15 m/s | 5°C | 0.6 mm |
| Sat 17:00 | 16 m/s | 5°C | 0.7 mm |
| Sat 18:00 | 16 m/s | 4°C | 0.5 mm |
541 m
The high point of Route 1 between Akureyri and Skagafjörður, and the stretch that shuts the road south. Vegagerðin's station sits on the heath itself, about 510 m above the town.
Vegagerðin — Öxnadalsheiði road condition — The live open, slippery or closed answer for this stretch.
309 m
Route 1 has run through the Vaðlaheiðargöng tunnel since 21 December 2018, so Víkurskarð is now the toll-free alternative rather than the main road east. It is lower than Öxnadalsheiði but exposed, and it closes in weather the tunnel is unaffected by.
Vegagerðin — Víkurskarð road condition — Also carries the tunnel's own status, when the tunnel is the better option.
Vegagerðin (the Icelandic Road and Coastal Administration) decides whether a road is open, closed or restricted, and clears it. The Icelandic Met Office (Veðurstofa Íslands) issues the weather warnings that usually explain why. In an emergency, call 112.
Air temperature and road temperature are not the same measurement and they routinely disagree. An exposed summit radiates heat to a clear sky faster than the air around it, so the tarmac on Öxnadalsheiði can sit below zero while a car thermometer reads two or three degrees above it. Vegagerðin's masts measure the surface directly, and where they also measure the dew point beside it this page says so — moisture settles on a surface that is at or below its dew point, which is how a dry-looking road becomes an icy one. Not every station has a surface probe. Where one is missing this page says the surface is not measured rather than filling the gap.
Source: Vegagerðin, roadside weather stations (umferðin.is), checked 8 August 2026 (today).
At about 540 m, Öxnadalsheiði is the highest point on Route 1 between Akureyri and Skagafjörður and one of the most frequently closed roads in Iceland outside the F-road network. North-easterly storms drive drifting snow across it through the winter; when it shuts, the alternative is a long detour rather than a short one. The elevations on this page are read from the Copernicus digital elevation model at each station's own coordinates.
Source: Vegagerðin (umferðin.is); elevations via Open-Meteo's Copernicus DEM lookup, checked 8 August 2026 (today).
We looked for a published Icelandic wind threshold for driving — the figure that would let this page say "above this, don't cross" — and could not find one issued by Vegagerðin or the Met Office. The numbers that circulate come from car-rental guidance and do not agree with each other. Rather than invent a limit and print it beside a real instrument reading, this page ranks the coming hours against each other and shows the actual gust, so you can weigh it against your own vehicle and the official warnings.
Source: Checked against Vegagerðin and Veðurstofa Íslands publications, checked 8 August 2026.
Measurements from Vegagerðin (umferðin.is). Forecast from Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.
| Sat 19:00 |
|---|
| 15 m/s |
| 4°C |
| 0.4 mm |
| Sat 20:00 | 15 m/s | 4°C | 0.3 mm |
|---|
| Sat 21:00 | 15 m/s | 3°C | 0.2 mm |
|---|
| Sat 22:00 | 14 m/s | 3°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sat 23:00 | 12 m/s | 3°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 00:00 | 12 m/s | 2°C | 0.2 mm |
|---|
| Sun 01:00 | 11 m/s | 2°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 02:00 | 10 m/s | 2°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 03:00 | 10 m/s | 1°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 04:00 | 10 m/s | 1°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 05:00 | 10 m/s | 1°C | — |
|---|
| Sun 06:00 | 9 m/s | 1°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 07:00 | 10 m/s | 1°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 08:00 | 8 m/s | 2°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 09:00 | 8 m/s | 2°C | 0.2 mm |
|---|
| Sun 10:00 | 7 m/s | 2°C | 0.2 mm |
|---|
| Sun 11:00 | 7 m/s | 3°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 12:00 | 8 m/s | 4°C | 0.2 mm |
|---|
| Sun 13:00 | 8 m/s | 5°C | 0.2 mm |
|---|
| Sun 14:00 | 8 m/s | 5°C | 0.2 mm |
|---|
| Sun 15:00 | 7 m/s | 5°C | 0.2 mm |
|---|
| Sun 16:00 | 8 m/s | 5°C | 0.1 mm |
|---|
| Sun 17:00 | 8 m/s | 6°C | — |
|---|
| Sun 18:00 | 8 m/s | 6°C | — |
|---|
| Sun 19:00 | 8 m/s | 6°C | — |
|---|
| Sun 20:00 | 9 m/s | 6°C | — |
|---|
| Sun 21:00 | 9 m/s | 6°C | — |
|---|
| Sun 22:00 | 6 m/s | 4°C | — |
|---|