An unusually powerful storm battered southern and eastern Finland Wednesday. The Finnish Meteorological Institute warned people in storm areas to stay indoors. The storm lasted a couple of hours in the Helsinki region before blustering into eastern and south-eastern areas. The storm cut power to thousands of homes, however most of the outages have been repaired. Strong downpours could dump 20-30 millimetres of water in two to three hours, and there is a good chance of hail, which can clog storm drains and cause flooding on the roads. The storm also brings with it very strong windy gusts. Dangerous Lightning A woman in Kirkkonummi was injured after a lightning bolt struck an area nearby. She was rushed to a hospital in Helsinki, but her status is not known. Lightning also caused several problems with transportation in the capital region, including hindering traffic light operation. Long-distance trains have experienced delays of around an hour on average, while Wednesday evening's Y-trains from Kirkkonummi to Karjaa and Karjaa to Helsinki have been cancelled. The Finnish State Railway VR expects trains to run on time on Thursday morning. Meanwhile YLE radio broadcasts were disrupted in the Uusimaa region after lightning struck the main broadcast tower in Pasila. YLE
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