Driving conditions are hazardous across many parts of Finland on Friday due to a series of sleet and snow showers.
Fintraffic's regional office in Tampere has warned of especially challenging road conditions in the area, while the Finnish Meteorological Institute has issued a hazardous driving conditions warning for southern and central regions — which is in effect until 6am on Saturday morning.
Conditions are particularly bad in the regions of Kanta- and Päijät-Häme, Kymenlaakso and Pirkanmaa, the FMI noted.
"Now is the time to change to the friction or studded winter tyres, if someone hasn't done it yet. Now it's definitely winter tyre time nationwide," Kimmo Fager of Fintraffic said.
Matthew Schilke of Yle News explained the new regulations around winter tyres in an Instagram reel.
Temperatures drop to -17 in Lapland
Thursday night was the coldest of the season so far, with the temperature dropping to -16.7 degrees Celsius in Sodankylä, Finnish Lapland, according to the FMI.
Despite the subzero temperatures, driving conditions in the region of Finnish Lapland are relatively good, Fintraffic noted.
The forecast for the weekend suggests cloudy conditions in many parts of the country, with rain showers in the south and east. Temperatures during the day on Saturday will range from 5 degrees Celsius in the south to -2 in Finnish Lapland.
The outlook for next week is for milder temperatures, with no more snow in the forecast.
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