278 THORODDSEN 



expressed in the height of the barometer at Iceland and in the 

 Azores, have, as is well-known, a very great influence upon the 

 climate of western Europe. 1 



The wind blows with great force over Iceland and storms are 

 frequent, especially in the winter half of the year. At Stykkisholm 

 there are, on an average, 50 days of storm annually; in the Vest- 

 mannaeyjar 25; and on Grimsey 11. On the west coast the majority 

 (60 %>) of the storms are from the NE., while in East Iceland the 

 NW. wind is the most stormy, causing 50 %>. As the fisheries along 

 the coast of Iceland are carried on especially in the winter half of 

 the year (the fishing season along the south-west coast begins in 

 February), the storms constantly cause a great many disasters at 

 sea. During the years 1850 1877 (with the exception of 1853 and 

 1875, for which no data are to hand) 2008 people were drow r ned 

 off Iceland, forming 3 /o of the total number of deaths during those 

 years; of these, 60 % were drowned in March. During the years 

 1881- -1910, 2096 persons were drowned out of a population of 

 70,000 80,000. Both in northern and eastern Iceland the Fohn wind, 

 which blows down from the Jokulls of the plateau, is fairly com- 

 mon during winter and causes a sudden rise of temperature, re- 

 sulting in the melting of the snow in the lowlands and of the ice 

 upon the surface of the lakes and rivers. N. Hoffmeyer 2 describes 

 a Fohn wind which blew down from Vatnajokull over south-east 

 Iceland from September 18th to 26th, 1877, causing the temperature 

 at Berufjord and on Papey to rise from 7 8 C. to as much as 

 18 20 C. ; otherwise, such a high temperature is very rare at these 

 stations, even at midsummer. 



The oceanic character of the Icelandic climate is manifested in 

 the low degree of heat experienced during summer and the mild- 

 ness of the winter. The mean temperature of the coldest days along 

 the coast of Iceland (Stykkisholm, Berufjord and Grimsey) was in 



1 J. Hann: Die Anomalien der Witterung auf Island in dem Zeitraume 1851 

 bis 1900 und deren Beziehungen zu den gleichzeitigen Witterungsanomalien in 

 Nordwestevropa (Sitzungsberichte d. Akademie d. Wissenschaften in Wien. Math.- 

 naturw. Klasse. Band 113, Abteilung II a, Wien, 1904. S. 183269). H. H. Hilde- 

 brandsson: Quelqnes recherches sur les centres d'action de 1'atmosphere IV. Sur 

 la compensation entre les types des saisons simultanes en differentes regions de 

 la terre (Kungl. Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar, Band 45, No 11. Stock- 

 holm, 1910). 



N. Hoffmeyer: Vejrforholdene paa Island i Vinterhalvaaret 1877 78 (Tids- 

 skrift for populaer Fremstilling af Naturvidenskaben, 5. Raekke, V Bind, 1878, pp. 

 161172). 



