The final week of school is set to be warm and summery in Finland, according to weather projections. Yle meteorologist Matti Huutonen said that conditions will continue to be balmy as daytime highs approach and even cross the 20-degree-Celsius threshold during the week.
On Sunday, temperatures reached a record 21.9 degrees in Oulu.
"Now after a cold start to May we are once more close to average readings at the end of the month. Crossing the 20-degree mark has been unusually late for spring," he noted.
The week ahead is expected to be mostly dry, but by mid-week a weather front moving in from around Vaasa in the west and heading north will likely bring between five and 10 millimetres of precipitation.
"A little rain is also possible in the south and at the same time the weather may get a bit cooler on Wednesday and Thursday. However temperatures will mostly remain around 20 degrees in southern and central Finland," Huutonen predicted.
Tuesday is expected to be the warmest day of the week and according to the Yle weatherman highs could reach 20 degrees across the middle of the country and up to 22 degrees in the south.
Heavy snow cover in Lapland
In western Lapland meanwhile, the mercury will likely hover around 15 degrees.
"However for example in Poka, Kittilä, there’s still 80 cm of snow so we will have to closely monitor the flood situation in Kittikä and Rovaniemi," Huutonen noted.
Warm days will not necessarily mean warm nights, however, and Huutonen advised covering frost-sensitive vegetation in the event that nights become very chilly.
Next weekend will see a warm air mass waft over Finland once more. Huutonen said that the academic year will likely end in balmy summer conditions, although end-of-term ceremonies will be far more moderate than usual because of the coronavirus crisis.