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Wet snow brings slippery roads to southern and eastern Finland

Driving conditions are set to become hazardous on Friday evening in many areas.

Autoilijoita illan hämärässä vesisateessa..
Friday evening rush hour may be messy in parts of Finland. Image: Henrietta Hassinen / Yle
  • Yle News

The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) warns of hazardous driving conditions on Friday evening in southern Finland.

The forecast calls for 1-2 centimetres of snow, which may melt quickly.

Poor road conditions are expected especially from the late evening on because of freezing rain and rising temperatures. The warning covers most of southern and eastern Finland, from Uusimaa up to Kainuu.

Precipitation may melt and re-freeze in air

A strong high-pressure system has kept conditions dry and partly sunny in much of Finland this past week. On Friday this changed as a weak, scattered area of precipitation moved in from the south, bringing milder, damper weather.

Some of the snow will hit road surfaces in the form of freezing rain or drizzle.

"The precipitation will first melt a bit before striking the cold air mass above the ground and re-freezing," explains Yle meteorologist Anniina Valtonen.

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SääNews111220
A wintry mix of precipitation throughout Finland this weekend.

The FMI warning of slippery roads covers an area stretching from Hanko to Kajaani, including Uusimaa, Kanta-Häme, Päijät-Häme, Kymenlaakso, South Karelia and South Savo.

Cold returns on Sunday

On Saturday the southern half of Finland will be above freezing, with readings of -5 to -8 degrees Celsius in Lapland.

Southern and central Finland can expect a wintry mix of light snow, rain, freezing rain and freezing drizzle.

On Sunday temperatures will drop back down below zero through most of the country. Lapland may receive light snow or freezing drizzle. The rest of the country should be dry and overcast.