Cool change for Finland after a week of warm summer weather

'Hot' and 'Finland' aren't two words you often see connected to each other, but the past week has seen some very warm temperatures in the southern half of the country. An Australian like myself might consider the recent weather to be pretty much perfect, but a Finn would certainly say it has been hot. The warm period has come to an end today though as cold north easterly winds lead to a brief return of jackets and long pants.

From May 18, Jyväskylä endured a run of 8 consecutive days above 20C. 5 of those, including the last 4, also climbed above 25C. Of the past 6 years, only 2010 had a greater number of consecutive May days above 20C with 9 between May 13 and 21. 2010 also saw 5 May days above 25C.

From Thursday May 22 Jyväskylä Airport saw daily maximums of 26.8C, 28.1C, 29.3C and 26.8C. Saturday's 29.3C equalled the monthly high from May 19. Daily minimums during the past week have also been above average. The 6 days from May 20 all had daily values above 10C. May 20's 14.4C was the top and is the third highest May minimum in the last 6 years.

Jyväsjärvi in the late afternoon of May 24

A change in the weather appeared already yesterday morning. Intense isolated storms moved east across the country from around 6am until late last night. Jyväskylä centre had a brief shower around 7am. Storm activity threatened the city throughout the day as dark clouds built in the west and rolled east. The main city area of Jyväskylä managed to escape heavy rain that was experienced elsewhere, but lightning and thunder weren't too far away.

Flowers bask in the sunlight while storm clouds build north of Jyväskylä on May 25

Part of the storm system that dumped 21mm of rain in
one hour at Tikkakoski in the evening of May 25

Two storm cells moved east just north of Jyväskylä during the day, one around 1pm, the other just after 6pm. Tikkakoski, the site of Jyväskylä's weather station 25km north of the city, saw very heavy falls, especially between 6pm and 7pm. A total of 21mm fell during that hour. For comparison, April saw a monthly total of only 25mm. Further storms hit the Airport in the early hours of today also. Another 24mm was recorded between midnight and 4am. Somehow the city escaped most of this rain too. 

Temperatures dropped dramatically with the arrival of the evening storm. Just after 6pm it dropped from more than 26C to 15C in only 20 minutes. Temperatures continued to decline during the morning, from around 15C at midnight to below 10C by 1pm, down to 8.5C by 5pm. A high pressure system currently sitting in the Norwegian Sea is now pushing cold air from the Arctic across most of the Nordic region. 

Current forecasts for the coming 5 days show nothing higher than the 15C on Saturday. Rain is expected tonight along with the chance of wet snow with temperatures possibly dropping to as low as 2C. A top of 10C is predicted for tomorrow and Wednesday, with rain on Thursday and Friday. 

After the past week it's amazing to think how quickly the weather can change.