Showers are also possible.
Although temperatures are then expected to drop, the drop is not significant. A private weather forecasting company expects the mercury to drop to around -5°C early on Saturday, Christmas Eve.
The Finnish Environment Agency (Syke) warned last Friday that the increased temperatures increase the risk of flooding and urged people to make sure that the snow does not block the storm drains on the streets and outside the buildings. The melting of snow also raises the water level in the southern and western parts of lakes and rivers.
Hannu ValtaA meteorologist at the Finnish Meteorological Institute told Helsingin Sanomat on Saturday that if Helsinki-Vantaa Airport were to lose, for example, 40 centimeters of snow, the amount of rain would be 65–70 millimeters.
“That’s a pretty significant amount. It’s a little more than the average monthly rainfall for this time of year,” he said to the daily newspaper.
According to Valta, people should also be prepared for very slippery roads, especially in the middle of the week.
“There is so much snow on the ground that I don’t think it will all melt. And if we’re lucky, we’ll get more on Thursday and Friday. It is quite likely that it will be a white Christmas, he assured.
In Lapland, the temperature is predicted to hover around -10 degrees this week, before the temperature drops below -15 degrees on Saturday morning. Overall, average temperatures in the southern and central parts of the country are 0-3 degrees higher than the seasonal average, but in the western and northern parts of the country 0-2 degrees lower than average, according to Foreca.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
Source: The Nordic Page
