Over the next few days, several low-pressure areas are poised to pass over Finland in succession, according to Yle meteorologist Anniina Valtonen.
The first was over central areas on Friday morning, moving towards the northeast, bringing 5-15 cm of snow to many areas. Further south, precipitation has come down as rain or sleet.
During the afternoon, precipitation was subsiding in central parts of the country, but another area of rain and sleet was already arriving in the south. Eastern Finland will receive light intermittent snow during the day.
Meanwhile high pressure prevails over northern and most western parts of the country, and the weather will be clear and breezy in many places – and intensely cold in Finnish Lapland.
In the afternoon or evening, snowfall may be heavy in Kymenlaakso and South Karelia. Elsewhere, precipitation will be light.
By Saturday, clouds will roll in over Lapland as another low-pressure system moves in from the west. It should bring snow accumulations of 2-10 cm to the Ostrobothnian regions and Southern Lapland, and rain or sleet further south.
The weather is expected to be sunny in the very south and east of the country, as well as in the far north, which will still be very cold.
-30.5 C in Lapland
Unstable conditions continue on Sunday as the next low-pressure belt approaches from the southwest. It will bring milder air, raising temperatures well above zero in many areas.
On Friday morning, Kittilä in Lapland recorded a low of -30.5 degrees Celsius, the coldest reading so far this winter. Similar chilly temperatures are expected later in the weekend up north when the weather clears up again.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute has issued travel advisories for most of Finland over the next few days due to a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. That includes all of the south on Friday, and all central areas on Saturday, when there's also a warning for very slippery sidewalks. There are also brisk winds at sea.
