The winter has been a long one in southern Finland, with no real breaks from the cold, snow and ice. According to Tuukka Keränen, a meteorologist at the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), permanent snow cover appeared all across the south of the country in November and has not melted since.
"In the south, we can usually expect permanent snow cover in December or January," he points out.
In Finnish Lapland, the first snow fell as early as September.
This winter has also been exceptionally cold, as well. There were days of severe, bone-chilling cold throughout the country in January that repeated later on. Some of the lowest temperatures for decades have been recorded this winter.
"Finland and the whole Nordic region have been colder than average since October, with hardly any milder spells longer than a few days," notes Keränen.
Heavy snow cover
Snowfall has also been well above normal in many places. Currently, there is more than a metre of snow in many areas, with 114 centimetres in parts of Kittilä, Finnish Lapland. In most parts of Lapland, the snow cover is about 10 centimetres deeper than usual. In the northernmost parts of Lapland, snowfall has been close to average.
In northern Savo and the southern parts of northern Ostrobothnia, the snow cover is also above normal. Southern Finland has also seen exceptionally heavy snowfall.
Keränen predicts that Lapland will almost certainly get even more snow before spring arrives.
"Lapland is so far north that winter will continue well into March," he points out.
Even in the south, the snow cover is so heavy that won't disappear overnight.
Keränen says it is impossible to find a single explanation for the exceptionally snowy and cold winter Finland has seen.
"Air currents and the positions of high pressure and low pressure areas have been favourable for creating the cold winter we have had here now," he explains.
Keränen is not willing to commit to a forecast on the arrival spring just yet. The weather is at the moment, however, warmer than usual for the time of year.
"Forecasts indicate that this mild weather is set to continue," he says.
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