Iceland closes roads for wind far more often than for snow, and a section that was clear at breakfast can be shut by lunchtime. Below is the live status of the Ring Road and the mountain roads, taken directly from the Icelandic Road Administration, followed by what each term on their map actually means for the car you are driving.
Route 1 itself is clear end to end. The closures are on side roads and passes away from the main loop.
| Section | Status |
|---|---|
| Fjallabaksleið syðri: Álftavatnskrókur - Strútur | Impassable |
Source: Vegagerðin, the Icelandic Road Administration, via umferdin.is. Road service line: 1777. Section names are as they appear on Icelandic road signs.
The Icelandic Road Administration grades every stretch of road with one of a short list of terms, and the whole map is colour-coded from them. Visitors routinely misread two of them, so start here:
| Term | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Easily passable | Bare, dry or wet tarmac. Normal driving. |
| Spots of ice | Mostly clear with icy patches, typically on bridges, in shadow and on north-facing bends. The most under-rated category on the map — this is where most single-car accidents happen. |
| Slippery | A continuous film of ice. Studded tyres do the work; you drive slowly and brake early. |
| Snow covered / Difficult driving | Packed snow, possibly with drifting. Fine in a 4x4 with winter tyres if you are unhurried and the wind is calm. Not fine in a small 2WD. |
| Impassable | Do not attempt it in any vehicle. This is not a challenge rating. |
| Mountain vehicles | Not a warning about ice at all — this is the summer status of the F-roads, meaning modified high-clearance 4x4 only. Your rental contract almost certainly forbids it unless it says otherwise in writing. |
| Not known | Nobody has inspected it recently. Treat as unknown, not as clear. |
Newcomers plan around snow. Locals plan around wind. Gusts over 25 m/s move a small car across a lane, and door-ripping is such a routine claim that Icelandic rental companies sell insurance specifically for it. Two habits worth copying:
Sand and ash storms work the same way. On the south coast between Vík and Kirkjubæjarklaustur a strong easterly can strip paint off a car in minutes, which is exactly what the sand-and-ash cover on your rental is for.
Closures in Iceland are physical: a gate swings across the road and it is locked. Driving around one is an offence and voids every insurance you hold. The practical sequence is simple:
June to August. The whole Ring Road is normally clear. The interesting status is the F-roads, which open progressively between mid-June and early July depending on how fast the snow melts and rivers drop. They close again from mid-September.
September to October, April to May. Shoulder months. The Ring Road stays open but the first and last storms of the season arrive without much warning, and the highland routes are shut.
November to March. Expect at least one day of your trip to be reshaped by weather. This is normal and not a sign you planned badly — build a spare day into the itinerary and treat any closure as the plan working, not failing.
Between November and April this is the difference between a closed section being an inconvenience and being the end of your day.
Compare pricesWhen a section shuts, rooms in Vík, Höfn and Egilsstaðir go within the hour. Book before you drive on.
Find a place to stayHonest answer by season and route, including when a 2WD is genuinely fine.
Read the guideSome links are affiliate links — see our disclosure.
Not as a whole, but individual sections close regularly for storms and snow clearing, most often over the mountain passes in the east and north — Öxnadalsheiði, Fjarðarheiði and Möðrudalsöræfi are the usual names. Closures are typically measured in hours, occasionally a day.
Only in a vehicle rented with explicit F-road permission, and never in a 2WD or a soft-roader. The status is describing what the road demands, not granting permission. River crossings are excluded from every insurance policy sold in Iceland.
Through the winter it is refreshed several times a day and more often during a storm, based on inspections by road crews. In summer, when almost everything reads clear, updates are less frequent. Each entry carries its own timestamp.
With studded tyres and reduced speed, yes. The danger is that the road looks bare, so people drive at the speed the tarmac suggests and meet an icy patch on a bend. Black ice is invisible at speed.
Keflavík to Reykjavík rarely closes, and the airport road is among the first cleared. If it does shut, rental desks stay open and hold your car — put your flight number in the booking so the company can track it.