Finland’s brief spell of early summer heat has come to an abrupt end, with forecasts pointing to falling temperatures, snowfall, and night frosts across large parts of the country in the coming days.
Temperatures rose above 20°C across southern Finland on 1 and 2 May, marking the first such readings of the year. The highest value reached 23.7°C in Mäntsälä on Saturday, according to national observations. The warm conditions made this period the hottest start to May since 2008.
According to the Foreca weather blog, the warm air mass has now shifted east into Russia, replaced by colder conditions moving across the country from the north.
Forecasters expect a sharp drop in temperatures on Sunday, with central regions seeing declines of up to 10 degrees compared with Saturday levels.
In southern coastal areas, temperatures still reached between 17°C and 18°C on Sunday, though cooler air has begun to dominate. In Lapland, daytime readings remain below 10°C, with unstable weather bringing the risk of snow and sleet showers.
Rain is set to spread across southern and eastern Finland on Monday, with totals of around 10 millimetres expected in many areas. The rainfall will push temperatures into single digits even in the south. Northern regions will remain drier, though snow showers will persist in Lapland.
By Tuesday morning, colder nights will turn precipitation into snow across central and northern parts of the country. Regions including Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, southern Lapland, and Koillismaa face the likelihood of several centimetres of wet snow. Road conditions in these areas are expected to deteriorate.
Snow and sleet may also extend into central regions from Tuesday night into Wednesday, particularly in North Ostrobothnia. Night frosts will become widespread in the north, with temperatures dropping to around minus 10°C in clearer areas by Thursday morning.
Forecasts indicate that the colder pattern will remain in place for several days before signs of gradual warming emerge later in the week. Temperatures above 15°C may return to southern Finland, though confidence in this outlook remains limited.
HT
