Finnish Lapland has experienced a bone-chilling start to 2026, with a temperature of -39.9 degrees Celsius measured in the village of Kilpisjärvi in Enontekiö on Friday morning.
This was even colder than the -38.4 degrees Celsius registered in the same location on New Year's Day, which itself was until then the lowest temperature recorded in Finland so far this winter.
"These severely cold temperatures will continue in the north for several days. It’s quite possible that in the coming days the record [colder than -40C] could be broken," Antti Jylhä-Ollila of the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) said.
Although the rest of the country will not see temperatures plunge to quite the same level, a low pressure front moving in from the southwest will bring snowfall of up to 40 centimetres as well as temperatures of -25C in some areas.
Both Fintraffic and the FMI have issued warnings of hazardous driving conditions across southern and central parts of Finland, effective for Friday and Saturday.
Yle meteorologist Anniina Valtonen added that the light, powdery snow expected over the coming days will reduce visibility and make road surfaces slippery.
Hundreds still without power following storm Hannes
Meanwhile, about 800 customers of the electricity network company Elenia, which operates in six regions, are still without power following the winter storm Hannes last weekend.
A spokesperson for Elenia told Yle that the worst damage is in Pirkanmaa and South Ostrobothnia, with faults proving particularly difficult to repair in the municipalities east of the city of Tampere.
"More than five days without electricity is an extremely long time, and we are very sorry about that," Heikki Paananen of Elenia said.
According to the FMI, last weekend's Hannes storm was one of the worst low-pressure storms to hit Finland so far this century.
The storm's impact led to some 180,000 households losing power simultaneously, while emergency services received over 3,000 calls about damage caused by Hannes.
