A Powerful Storm Sweeps Past Iceland

Hurricane Isaias was the only Atlantic hurricane of 2026 so far. It reached Florida on October 9 as a Category 2 storm. It brought rain and wind to the U.S. Gulf Coast and soaked much of the Eastern Seaboard. However, the weather system was not finished.

The jet stream carried the remains of Isaias east across the North Atlantic. There, they grew into a powerful storm called an extratropical cyclone. This kind of storm is a low-pressure system, and its clouds often form an uneven, comma-shaped pattern. It can bring hurricane-force winds, heavy rain, and blizzard-like conditions.

On the afternoon of October 14, the VIIRS instrument on the NOAA-21 satellite photographed the cyclone as it passed close to Iceland. According to reports, the storm's air pressure dropped by more than 50 hectopascals in 24 hours. This is about twice the level used to define explosive cyclogenesis, also called bombogenesis. Some meteorologists think the storm may have set a new October low for air pressure in Iceland after adjusting for altitude. If they are right, it would break a record that has stood since 1963.

The cyclone brushed the coast of Iceland and brought strong winds. A gust of 205 kilometers (128 miles) per hour was recorded near the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in the south. A small island just off the coast had steady winds of 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour. Damaging winds also reached the north, where people prepared for sleet and snow. Farther across the Atlantic, northwestern Scotland had gusts of up to 90 kilometers (55 miles) per hour on October 14, according to news reports. As a result, several ferry routes were canceled.

How did the storm affect people in Iceland and Scotland, and which effect do you think was the most serious?