Cool change on the way for Jyväskylä

Finns probably shouldn't get the outdoor furniture ready just yet. The current streak of warmer than average temperatures and the feel of spring looks like it will come to an end this weekend. There are only a few clumps of snow left in Jyväskylä and most of the roads and paths are dry thanks to 6 consecutive days above 4C.

Today has been the warmest of the month so far and the warmest since October 29 last year. It reached 8.5C just before 3pm. Yesterday got to 5.9C while tomorrow should also reach 8-9C. Not a single March day between 2009 and 2013 had a temperature recorded above 8C in Jyväskylä.

Elsewhere in Finland today, weather stations in Tampere and at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport almost hit 11C and at Jomala in the Åland Islands it got to 13C.

The gravel and small rocks placed on footpaths during the winter have been drying out over the last week. As a result, it has been incredibly dusty in Jyväskylä, and elsewhere in Finland. Warnings about poor air quality have been issued throughout this week while efforts to clean the streets have already started, something not typically done until late April. Air quality warnings can be seen via the Ilmanlaatuportaali website.

Those small rocks might come in handy this weekend though. Forecasts are predicting a cold change to hit some time on Saturday. Westerly winds should pick up on Friday before shifting to the east on Saturday and later to cold northerly winds during Saturday night. Temperatures will drop below zero and there should be snow throughout most of the southern half of the country from late Saturday and potentially all the way into early next week. I've seen reports predicting as much as 20cm of snow in some locations in the south.

Next week will be much cooler than the past few with long term forecasts showing temperatures dipping below -5C during the nights and up to only -2C during the day.