Glacial floods from the Skaftá cauldrons under Vatnajökull, the Icelandic Met Office's dated flood reports, and the Lakagígar craters of the Skaftáreldar eruptions.
Skaftá receives glacial floods from the Skaftá cauldrons under Vatnajökull, and the Icelandic Met Office says such floods have occurred at fairly regular intervals in the past 50 years. The newest Met Office Skaftá item found reported a flood in December 2025 from the western cauldron, subsiding at about 76 m³/s at Sveinstindur on 15 December. Icelandic Met Office (source checked 2026-11-10)Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)
Key takeaways
The newest Icelandic Met Office Skaftá item found covers a flood in December 2025, with updates from 8 to 15 December; the Met Office confirmed the flood came from the western Skaftá cauldron. Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)
On 8 December 2025 the Met Office said the previous Skaftá flood was in August 2024 and advised travellers to keep away from the river channel above Skaftárdalur and three glacier margins. Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)
The Met Office says the largest known flood in Skaftá occurred in October 2015, with peak discharge around 3,000 m³/s. Icelandic Met Office (source checked 2026-11-10)
Vatnajökull National Park says the Skaftáreldar eruptions of 1783-1784 formed Lakagígar, and that the hunger and disease that followed sent one in every five Icelanders to their grave. Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)
Vatnajökull National Park says the road to Lakagígar (F206 and F207) has four unbridged river crossings; Vegagerðin publishes road conditions on umferdin.is. Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)Vegagerðin (source checked 2026-11-10)
Skaftá at a glance
Fact
Detail
Notes
What it is
River that receives glacial floods from the Skaftá cauldrons
Icelandic Met Office.
Flood source
Western and eastern Skaftá cauldrons under Vatnajökull
Icelandic Met Office; the December 2025 flood came from the western cauldron.
Newest Met Office flood item found
December 2025 (updates 8–15 December); subsiding at about 76 m³/s at Sveinstindur on 15 December
Past flood. No 2026 Skaftá item was found when the sources were checked.
Previous flood
August 2024
Veðurstofa Íslands, 8 December 2025.
Largest known flood
October 2015, around 3,000 m³/s
Icelandic Met Office.
Flood frequency
Fairly regular intervals over the past 50 years
Icelandic Met Office: 28 floods from the eastern cauldron (1955–2018), 30 from the western (1972–2018).
Lakagígar craters
Row of craters over 29 km long, formed 1783–1784
Vatnajökull National Park.
Lakagígar, F206 opening
Between 12 June and 1 July in 2021–2025; average 20 June
Vegagerðin's opening table; past openings only.
Road conditions
umferdin.is
Vegagerðin's watch stations update driving and road conditions there.
Sources and page update
Updated: 2026-11-10
The Icelandic Met Office publishes Skaftá flood updates. The newest one found is from December 2025; check the Met Office and SafeTravel for any newer notice.
For sourcing standards and how to report an error, see the editorial policy.
Skaftá receives flood water from the Skaftá cauldrons under Vatnajökull, and the Icelandic Met Office says: “Glacial floods in Skaftá have occurred at fairly regular intervals in the past 50 years.” The Met Office counts 28 floods from the eastern cauldron between 1955 and 2018 and 30 from the western cauldron between 1972 and 2018. Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)Icelandic Met Office (source checked 2026-11-10)
Flood water from the western and eastern Skaftá cauldrons under Vatnajökull
Met Office gauging stations at Sveinstindur and Eldvatn
Raised conductivity and a sulphur smell, which the Met Office calls typical signs of a Skaftá flood
Hydrogen sulphide that comes out from under the glacier with the flood water
Crevasses that can form quickly around the draining cauldron, according to the Met Office
Eldhraun lava, which flowed from Lakagígar in the Skaftáreldar eruptions
What is near Skafta?
Skaftá runs by Kirkjubæjarklaustur, where the Icelandic Met Office reported rising flow in Skaftá during the December 2025 flood, and Vatnajökull National Park has its visitors centre there. The park says lava from Lakagígar flowed to the settled areas in two tongues known today as Eldhraun and Brunahraun, and that the road to Lakagígar is F206 and F207. Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)
Can you drive to Lakagígar, the Skaftáreldar craters, and do you cross rivers?
Vatnajökull National Park, whose visitors centre is in Kirkjubæjarklaustur by Skaftá, says the road to Lakagígar (F206 and F207) is only accessible by four-wheel drive and that along the way are four unbridged river crossings that can swell in rainy conditions. The park encourages visitors to ask about road conditions at that visitors centre. Iceland.org gives no fording advice for these crossings. Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)
Road to Lakagígar: four-wheel drive only, according to Vatnajökull National Park
Unbridged river crossings that can swell in rainy conditions, according to the park
Road advice: the park's visitors centre in Kirkjubæjarklaustur
Road conditions: umferdin.is, from Vegagerðin
Lakagígar, F206 opening dates in Vegagerðin’s mountain-road table, 2021 to 2025 (past openings only) Vegagerðin (source checked 2026-11-10)
Highland road
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Average 2021–2025
Lakagígar, F206
25 June
1 July
12 June
18 June
12 June
20 June
Vegagerðin’s table lists opening dates only, with an earliest opening of 12 June and a latest of 1 July; it does not say when F206 closes. Vegagerðin says its watch stations update information on driving conditions and road conditions on umferdin.is. Vegagerðin (source checked 2026-11-10)Vegagerðin (source checked 2026-11-10)
When was the most recent Skaftá flood, and what did the Met Office say?
The newest Icelandic Met Office Skaftá item found when the sources were checked on 10 November 2026 covers a flood in December 2025. On 8 December the Met Office said the flood had begun and the previous one was in August 2024; on 10 December it confirmed the water came from the western Skaftá cauldron; on 15 December it said the flood was subsiding, at about 76 m³/s at Sveinstindur. Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)
Flood updates: the Icelandic Met Office news page
Road conditions: umferdin.is, from Vegagerðin
Travel alerts: Safetravel
During the December flood the Met Office asked people on Vatnajökull to keep away from the Skaftá cauldrons
“Ferðafólki er eindregið ráðlagt að halda sig fjarri farvegi Skaftár ofan Skaftárdals og jökuljöðrum Skaftárjökuls, Tungnárjökuls og Síðujökuls.”
In English, the Met Office’s 8 December 2025 advice was that travellers were strongly advised to keep away from the Skaftá channel above Skaftárdalur and from the margins of the Skaftárjökull, Tungnárjökull and Síðujökull glaciers. On 8 and 10 December it said the flood had no effect on the main roads at that time; no 2026 Skaftá item was found. Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)
How large have Skaftá floods been?
Skaftá’s largest known flood, according to the Icelandic Met Office, occurred in October 2015, when peak discharge reached around 3,000 m³/s. At the start of the December 2025 flood the Met Office measured about 200 m³/s at Sveinstindur, which it called comparable to high summer flow but small next to larger Skaftá floods that can peak at up to 3000 m³/s. Icelandic Met Office (source checked 2026-11-10)Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)
The Met Office’s December 2025 flood report confirmed drainage from the western Skaftá cauldron. By 15 December the flow at Sveinstindur had fallen to about 76 m³/s, but conductivity was still high and the Met Office said sulphur pollution could still be present near the glacier. Veðurstofa Íslands (source checked 2026-11-10)
The Met Office says flood water usually takes about 8-10 hours to travel from its gauging station at Sveinstindur to the one at Eldvatn near Highway 1. The December 2025 flood shows that Skaftá floods are not limited to summer, and a dated report that main roads were unaffected then says nothing about roads on a later day. Icelandic Met Office (source checked 2026-11-10)
What were the Skaftáreldar of 1783-1784?
The Skaftáreldar were the eruptions of 1783-1784 that formed Lakagígar, which Vatnajökull National Park describes this way: “Lakagígar is a row of craters over 29 kilometres long.” The park says about 12 cubic kilometres of lava flowed from Lakagígar to the settled areas, and that the hunger and disease that followed sent one in every five Icelanders to their grave. Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)
Vatnajökull National Park says the volcanic mist has been connected to a cold period in Alaska, droughts in Egypt, and acid rain and crop failures in Europe. Iceland.org’s Laki craters guide covers the crater row itself. Vatnajökull National Park (source checked 2026-11-10)
Planning help
Skaftá River FAQs
Quick answers with safety notes where it matters.
What are jökulhlaups and why is Skaftá prone to them?
Skaftá receives glacial floods from the Skaftá cauldrons under Vatnajökull. The Icelandic Met Office says glacial floods in Skaftá have occurred at fairly regular intervals in the past 50 years, with 28 floods from the eastern cauldron between 1955 and 2018 and 30 from the western cauldron between 1972 and 2018. (checked November 10, 2026)
What were the Skaftá Fires (Skaftáreldar) of 1783?
Vatnajökull National Park says about 12 cubic kilometres of lava flowed from Lakagígar during the Skaftáreldar eruptions, in two tongues known today as Eldhraun and Brunahraun, and that toxic ash, sulphuric gases and volcanic mist spread over most of the country. The park says the combination of hunger and disease that followed sent one in every five Icelanders to their grave, and connects the mist to acid rain and crop failures in Europe. (checked November 10, 2026)
What did the Met Office advise during the December 2025 Skaftá flood?
On 8 December 2025 the Icelandic Met Office strongly advised travellers to keep away from the Skaftá channel above Skaftárdalur and from the margins of the Skaftárjökull, Tungnárjökull and Síðujökull glaciers, because hydrogen sulphide comes with the flood water. On 15 December 2025 it said the flood was subsiding. No newer Skaftá item was found when the sources were checked; look for current notices from the Met Office and Safetravel. (checked November 10, 2026)
How do I get to the Skaftá river?
The Icelandic Met Office measures Skaftá at Sveinstindur and says its Eldvatn gauge is near Highway 1; in December 2025 it also reported rising flow in Skaftá at Kirkjubæjarklaustur. Vatnajökull National Park says the road to Lakagígar (F206 and F207) is only accessible by four-wheel drive and has four unbridged river crossings that can swell in rainy conditions. Vegagerðin publishes road conditions on umferdin.is. (checked November 10, 2026)
How large have Skaftá floods been?
The Icelandic Met Office says the largest known flood in Skaftá occurred in October 2015, with peak discharge around 3,000 m³/s. At the start of the December 2025 flood it measured about 200 m³/s at Sveinstindur, which it compared with high summer flow, and about 76 m³/s on 15 December as the flood subsided. (checked November 10, 2026)