Sayings like, "There is no weather in Iceland, only samples" or "If you don’t like the weather, just wait five minutes," indicate the variability of the Icelandic climate. It is cool, temperate and oceanic, influenced by the country’s location where the polar front separates air currents of polar and tropical origin. The weather is affected also by the confluence of two different ocean currents, the Gulf Stream flowing clockwise around the south and west coasts, and the East Greenland polar current curving southeastwards round the north and east coasts, which meet off the southeast coast. A third element affecting the climate is the Arctic drift ice brought by the polar current, which occasionally blocks the north and east coasts in late winter and early spring. The advance of drift ice causes a considerable fall in the temperature and usually some decrease in precipitation. Fluctuations in average annual temperature are more pronounced in Iceland than most other places. In Britain, for instance, the deviation is only one-third of that in Iceland.
For two to three months in summer there is continuous daylight in Iceland, and early spring and late autumn enjoy long twilights. The really dark period (three to four hours daylight) lasts from about mid-November until the end of January.
