I will be traveling to Iceland from August 27-September 6, and have a few questions.
-What do I pack as far as clothes? I don't get cold that easily, but I'm concerned about getting wet. Does it rain a lot then. Should I get some water-resistant pants?
Well, the weather in Iceland in late August, early September, is pretty similar to the weather in other similarly situated countries (i.e. close to the ocean in the northern part of the tempearate zone) - think Ireland minus a few degrees. Unless you live in a desert (which you might actually do - if you don't have ANY water-resistant pants) you should be fine with what you've already got.
It is of course difficult to give clothing advice without the slightest indication of what you hope to do in Iceland ...
As for Icelandc rain, it's all subjective. It rains often, yes, but torrential downpours are almost unknown, it just drizzles. The wind does whoever do quite well at driving the drizzle into your face ...
Most of the pants I have are cotton, denim, or some blend. Only 2 pair of nylon pants. I'll be there 10 days...
Well, a pair of breathable rain pants (not neccesarily Goretex - I prefer eVent myself) would probably be a good investment - I usually budget less than $100 per pair ...
Iceland is within the Auroral Oval (along with central Alaska, northern Canada, and extreme northern Scandinavia), so your odds of seeing an aurora are about as good as anyplace on earth. Your big problem is due to the length of daylight and twilight in the summer months at that latitude.
http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/iceland/reykjavik?month=9 Nighttime darkness will be improving over the course of your stay, and it should be dark enough to see any auroras in the middle of the night even if there is a trace of twilight left. You are fortunate that you will be near new moon, so the moon will not add to the sky brightness. You will need to get out of the city to get dark skies. There are websites that give you the current auroral conditions (or you can just go outside) https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/auroral-activity/auroral-oval Note that standing around outside in the middle of the night might require warmer clothes than being active during the day, so bring layers.
I would say it really depends on what you are planning to do in Iceland during your stay. If you are getting out and going to higher altitudes or near the fishing towns on the coast-** layer up!** Bring some warm cotton pants and running shoes/hiking boots. Also, some long sleeve layers, windbreaker, sweaters. You should be okay without water resistant pants but definitely bring a nice change of clothes. When I was there, I was glad I had grip on my boots because we did a few sporadic hikes from some of the suggestions of the locals.
Bring a swimsuit too as you will NOT want to miss out on their famous natural hot springs or geothermal swimming pools (which can be found in every town).
Have fun! x
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