Það er rok úti í dag, en það er samt smá sólskin.

In sentences like this, það often works as a dummy subject: a grammatical placeholder similar to English it in it is windy.

So in Það er rok and það er smá sólskin, það does not refer to a specific thing. It is just there because Icelandic clauses normally need a subject.

Because en means but, and what follows it is a new main clause. Icelandic often repeats the full clause structure instead of leaving parts understood.

So:

• Það er rok úti í dag = one clause
• en það er samt smá sólskin = another clause

This is very natural in Icelandic, just as in English you might say It is windy today, but there is still some sunshine.

Rok means strong wind, gale, or simply very windy weather. It is stronger than just vindur.

In weather expressions, Icelandic often uses a noun like this with það er:

• Það er rok = it is very windy / there is a gale
• Það er rigning = it is raining / there is rain
• Það er snjór = there is snow / it is snowy

So rok here is a weather noun, not a verb.

Because in this kind of general weather statement, Icelandic normally uses the noun without the definite article.

So:

• Það er rok = windy weather / gale conditions
• Það er sólskin = sunshine

This is similar to English expressions like there is sunshine or it is windy, where you are talking about a general condition, not a specific, clearly identified object.

Because úti means outside / outdoors, while út usually means out, often with movement.

Compare:

• Það er rok úti = it is windy outside
• Hann fer út = he goes out

So úti is the right form when describing a location or condition outdoors.

Í dag is the normal Icelandic expression for today. Literally, it is in day, but you should learn it as a fixed phrase.

Other common time expressions work similarly:

• í morgun = this morning
• í kvöld = tonight / this evening
• í gær = yesterday

So í dag is just the standard idiomatic way to say today.

Samt means still, all the same, or nevertheless.

It shows contrast:

• it is windy
• samt there is a bit of sunshine

So it adds the idea of despite that or even so.

In this sentence, samt is placed before smá sólskin, which is a very natural position.

Smá means a little, a bit of, or small in a loose everyday sense.

So smá sólskin means a bit of sunshine.

A useful thing to know is that smá is very commonly used in modern Icelandic as an informal modifier, and it often behaves more simply than a regular adjective. Learners will often meet it in expressions like:

• smá vandamál = a small problem / a bit of a problem
• smá kaffi = a little coffee
• smá sólskin = a bit of sunshine

Here it softens the statement: not bright full sunshine, just some sunshine.

Yes. Það er samt sólskin is perfectly possible.

The difference is nuance:

• Það er samt sólskin = there is still sunshine
• Það er samt smá sólskin = there is still a bit of sunshine

So smá makes the sunshine sound limited or partial.

Because en is a coordinating conjunction meaning but. After a coordinating conjunction, Icelandic normally keeps regular main-clause word order.

That is why you get:

• en það er samt smá sólskin

This is different from some subordinating conjunctions, where word order can behave differently.

Also, Icelandic is a verb-second language, but here the subject það comes first, so the verb er naturally comes second.

Yes, it is part of a very common weather pattern:

• Það er + weather noun/adjective + optional place/time

For example:

• Það er kalt úti = it is cold outside
• Það er rigning í dag = it is rainy / there is rain today
• Það er rok úti = it is windy outside

So this sentence is very typical, useful everyday Icelandic.

A rough guide for an English speaker:

• það: thath
  
  • þ is like English th in thin
  • ð is like English th in this, though in casual speech it can be quite soft
• rok: roughly rohk
• úti: roughly OO-ti
• sólskin: roughly SOHL-skin

A few vowel hints:

• ó is usually like o in go
• ú is like oo in food
• í is like ee in see

The stress in Icelandic almost always falls on the first syllable, so:

• ÞAÐ er rok
• Ú-ti
• SÓL-skin

Here sólskin is a noun meaning sunshine.

Icelandic can also express sunny weather in other ways, but using a noun is very common in weather talk. So það er sólskin is a very natural way to describe the condition.

This is similar to how English can say either:

• there is sunshine
• it is sunny

Icelandic often likes the noun-based weather expression.