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Snowfall causing problems for motorists in central Finland

Fresh snow accumulation of up to 20cm in some areas has made roads hazardous.

Säiliöauto ojassa.
A lorry that slid off the road into a ditch in central Finland on Tuesday morning. Image: Tenho Tornberg / Yle
  • Yle News

On Monday morning the Finnish Meteorological Institute reported a dusting of snow cover at its Tikkakoski weather station in Jyväskylä. By the next morning however, the reading was 18cm of snow cover at the same location.

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Luminen auto.
An indication of how much new snow Jyväskylä received in less than 24 hours. Image: Outi Parikka / Yle

The heaviest snowfall was early Monday evening, over 4mm of precipitation an hour. A general meteorology rule of thumb is that one millimetre of measured precipitation equals one centimetre of snow.

Road conditions in the region are expected to remain hazardous until at least early evening on Tuesday. One person died Tuesday morning in a collision between a car and a delivery lorry in Jyväskylä.

An air dome at Jyväskylä's Vehkalampi sports venue was taken down when the weight of snow began to raise safety concerns.

"This is the first time we've had to do this. These conditions are impossible. Of course we're not open," commented Jarmo Korhonen who supervises the facility for the city of Jyväskylä.

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Tyhjennetty kuplahalli.
Collapsed air dome in Jyväskylä. Image: Petri Aaltonen / Yle

There have been rolling power outages caused by wet snow downing trees and power lines. Starting in the southwest of the country and moving eastwards, at their peak Tuesday morning, the power cuts left around 8,000 households without electricity.

According to the current forecast, lighter snowfall is expected to continue in central regions. Road clearing crews and equipment are out in full force.

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Ulosajanutta autoa kiskotaan tielle.
Image: Tenho Tornberg / Yle

In the Pirkanmaa region, heavy vehicles met with problems, getting stuck in snow and slush at crossroads and on ramps, especially on highway 3 north of Tampere.

Around 20cm of new snowfall was recorded in the region overnight causing power outages, with the municipalities of Ylöjärvi, Ikaalinen ja Ruovesi most affected.