Cooler in Jyväskylä but change coming, holding steady in Sydney

After a fairly prolonged period of temperatures hovering closer to zero, they dropped below -20C in Jyväskylä on Sunday February 15. This was the first time below the mark since January 21. The 16th dipped slightly lower than what was seen late on Sunday, down to -21.8C. This will most likely be the coldest temperature of the month, already colder than any temperature seen in Jyväskylä during the Februaries of 2009, 2013 and 2014.

Sunday also saw the lowest daily maximum in quite some time. It didn't climb above -6.5C. January 23's -12.6C was the previous recording lower than that. It is the only maximum below -5C this month and, based on current forecasts, it will probably remain that way.

Temperatures have been climbing today though and maximums in the coming week are likely to exceed zero. The next three days could see figures around 3C.  Minimums will also be higher; the current ten day forecast doesn't predict any nights dropping below -5C.

The closing in of spring has been noticeable already in Finland, particularly in the level of sunshine seen in the recent two weeks. Several days have seen cloudless skies and the length of day has also increased above nine hours for first time since late October. Higher temperatures are also helping. Last week's 7.8C maximum from February 11 turned out to be the second highest February temperature ever recorded in Jyväskylä. It was also the earliest date ever for such a high temperature.

Sunset on February 14

February 15 saw clear blue skies over Jyväskylä

In Sydney temperatures have stabilised quite nicely above 25C after a cooler period which started in late January. Today's 29.8C maximum was the 12th consecutive day above the mark. Hotter weather hasn't really been seen though. Of those 12 days, only three exceeded 30C, with February 8's 33.1C top the highest of the month so far.

Minimums have also been quite high. After a two week period extending from January 26 to February 8 that saw daily minimums below 20C, all except one day since the 9th has been entirely above the mark.

Some rain was around last week. Friday February 13 saw the highest falls at the Airport. The 18.6mm is the third highest daily total of the year so far, and the highest this month. An additional 3.2mm across the 12th, 14th and 15th helped the monthly total climb to 23.6mm.

Forecasts suggest more rain in the coming week. There is a medium to high chance of showers, and possibly thunderstorms, running all the way into early next week. Maximum temperatures should remain at similar levels in the high 20s.

Exceptional warmth in Finland this week

Temperatures in Finland this week climbed to extraordinary highs for this time of year. Temperatures soared above 5C on Tuesday in many parts of the country, while Wednesday saw many locations record temperatures even higher than the day before.

The warmer weather is due to moderate southwesterly winds associated with a high pressure system sitting over Germany. In contrast, locations in the Balkan Region have been experiencing sub-zero temperatures that are much colder than those seen across the Nordic countries.

The all time temperature record in Finland for February wasn't really under threat this week though. The last day of February back in 1943 saw 11.8C recorded at Helsinki's Ilmala (Pasila) weather station. Tuesday February 10 saw a national high of 9.6C in Kaarina, near Turku, while yesterday's top was 9.1C in Porvoo, 50km north east of Helsinki.

In Jyväskylä it didn't quite top 5C on Tuesday, getting to 4.9C, but yesterday saw a high of 7.8C. This was the warmest temperature at Tikkakoski since November 11, three months ago. While daily minimums weren't particularly high in comparison, 0.4C from yesterday was the highest figure this week, these maximums are very unusual for this early in February.

The graph below is a little cluttered, but if we look at maximums in Jyväskylä from January to the end of April since 2009, we can see just how unusual this is. The green line from 2015 clearly sticks out.

Daily maximums at Jyväskylä Airport from January to April for the years 2009-2015
(as of February 11, 2015)

For the years of 2009 through to 2013, it wasn't until April that Jyväskylä first experienced a top temperature above 7.8C. 2009 saw the latest date of April 22, more than two months beyond 2015's mark of February 11. The other year, 2014, had March 12 as its first day.

The warmer weather has been accompanied with a good amount of sunshine too. No precipitation has been recorded at the Airport since Monday the 9th. The high temperatures and lack of further falls have led to the snow depth dropping to 38cm by this evening. Footpaths around the city centre have also either become mini ice skating rinks or very sloshy. FMI released warnings about very dangerous pathways for pedestrians across Central Finland for Tuesday and yesterday. Conditions didn't improve much today, but colder temperatures are expected heading into the weekend.

Sunny and windy in Jyväskylä over the weekend, hotter in Sydney

Some of the strongest winds of the past year were seen in Jyväskylä during the weekend. The average wind speed at Jyväskylä Airport held above 10m/s for around eight hours from a bit before 6am on Sunday morning. Wind gusts were up to 20m/s as well.

Warnings were in place for most of Finland as a strong low pressure system made its way across the lower half of the country in a southeasterly direction. Unsurprisingly, the strongest gusts were seen in coastal areas. Sälgrund, on the western coast near Kaskinen, recorded a gust of 36.3m/s and an average wind speed measurement over 10 minutes of 30.4m/s. Elsewhere, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport recorded a gust at 28.6m/s and a 27.5m/s gust was recorded in Kokemäki.

Daylight hours across the weekend saw bright blue sky and plenty of sun. Friday February 6 through to Sunday all saw good levels of sunshine. This was the first three day period of sun that I can remember since maybe last October.

There was some snow during the nights though. A band of precipitation, also moving in a southeasterly direction, preceded a rise in temperature on Saturday. A total of 2.4mm was recorded at Tikkakoski. Snow depths did touch 50cm at one point yesterday, but strong winds, and the resulting shifting snow, have the depth at 45cm today. Remarkably, of the 40 days so far in 2015, only eight haven't seen any precipitation at Tikkakoski. The most recent dry day, February 5, broke a run of 13 consecutive days of precipitation.

The rise in temperature on Saturday resulted in the warmest recording in almost three weeks. It reached 2.1C, the highest since 2.7C was recorded on January 17. That recording was also higher than any February temperature seen from 2009 to 2012. 2013 and 2014 both saw a top of 5.8C.

Temperatures did drop during the evening of February 7 though. After steadying around -5C for most of yesterday, it dropped further during the evening and the first temperature below -10C in just over two weeks was recorded. The -12.5C low today already puts it below February 2014's lowest temperature of -10.6C.

Sun in Jyväskylä during the afternoon of February 6

In Sydney the run of cooler temperatures finally came to an end over the weekend. Saturday the 7th saw a top of 27.7C at Sydney Airport, ending a 12 day run of daily maximums below 26C.

Sunday was even better. It was a very calm day with a strongest gust at the Airport of only 28km/h. This was the weakest such measurement since the same was seen on October 23 last year. Light northwesterly, and later easterly winds, accompanied a rise in temperature up to 33.1C around 4pm at the Airport. The sun was out in full force too. The Bureau of Meteorology recorded 12.2 hours of sunshine, the highest daily measurement since January 17.

It has been fairly dry in Sydney since those heavy falls on January 27 and 28. Only 1.8mm has been recorded at the Airport since then, 1.0mm on February 4 and the remaining 0.8mm the day after. It could stay dry in the coming couple of days but the chance of showers increases as the weekend draws closer.

January 2015 Review - Sydney

It was a very warm January at Sydney Airport in 2015. With a week remaining in the month, the Airport was on track to record the highest average minimum on record. A drop in temperatures, however, which included the coldest January day since 2000, led to the final recording being the seventh warmest on record according to Bureau of Meteorology accounts.

The cooler period also led to the average maximum missing a potential record. In the end it was the fifth highest in the Airport's 76 years of January records. These figures were obviously well above the average and rainfall was also above average.

Averages from Januaries between 2009 and 2015 are shown below alongside the long term figure.

January averages at Sydney Airport for the period 2009-2015 plus the long term average

January 14 recorded the highest temperature of the month when it reached 36.7C. Only 2011 and 2012 recorded lower figures since 2009. 2009, 2010 and 2013 all recorded a hottest temperature above 40C. The highest minimum of 23.4C came on the 23rd, just before a drop in temperatures a couple of days later.

The 27th day of the month wasn't warmer than 20.6C. This was the lowest daily maximum for a January day since 2000. The lowest overall temperature was also a little unusual. It dropped to 14.3C on the 30th. In the past 30 years, there have been only seven January minimums lower than that.

The warm average of the month was helped by the number of days above 30C. There were 11 in total, three of which also exceeded 35C. 2009 and 2013 saw 13 and 12 days above 30C. There were also 20 minimums above 20C, 11 of which were the first 11 days of the year. Not once in the Airport's history had it not dropped below 20C by January 11 until this year. The last six days of the month, however, failed to hold above 19C, leaving 2011 and 2013 to remain with higher figures of 23 and 22 minimums above 20C respectively.

Daily minimums and maximums against rainfall at Sydney Airport for January 2015

January rainfall was much higher for Sydney in 2015 compared to 2014. The Airport received 112.6mm during the calendar month, comfortably above the long term average of 93.9mm. The Bureau recorded 112.8mm (0.2mm from December 31). Since 2000, 2015 was the fourth January to exceed 100mm of rain. In 2014 the Airport saw only 11.2mm.

The month saw 14 days of rain. A eight day dry streak ran from the first day of the month until the 8th, but it was followed the longest run of rain days, six from the 9th until the 14th. January 27 recorded the highest daily total with 35.0mm. The 28th, which saw 23.8mm, and the 11th with 16.8mm, were the only other days to record more than 15mm.

Wind strength wasn't especially high during the month. The highest gust of 69km/h was seen on both January 8, a north-northeasterly, and on the 25th, a southerly. May last year was the last month to record a weaker strongest gust. January in 2013 and 2014 recorded higher gusts also. The calmest day was the last day of the month. The strongest gust then was only 31km/h.

January 2015 Review - Jyväskylä

2015 saw a rather mild start to the year in Jyväskylä. This edition of January was the warmest seen since 2008. It wasn't only Jyväskylä that saw warmer temperatures. Everywhere in Finland was above average. The biggest differences were seen in the south where it was between 3C and 4C above average. The differences decreased further north, down to a 0C to 0.5C difference in Lapland. Precipitation was also above average. Many locations recorded almost double the average.

The average minimum and maximums for Januaries at Jyväskylä Airport since 2009 can be seen below.

January averages at Jyväskylä Airport for the period 2009-2015

Both the average minimum and maximum were the highest seen out of the past seven Januaries. The averages weren't too far off those of 2011 and 2013 though. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the average for the month at Jyväskylä Airport was -6.5C, compared to my -6.8C. FMI records put the -6.5C figure as the warmest since 2008, and almost 2C above the 1981-2010 average of -8.3C.

Extremes for the month were seen only on two days. For the second year in a row, New Year's Day was responsible for the warmest temperature of the month as well as the highest minimum. It didn't go below 1.0C then and climbed as high as 3.6C. Since 2009, only 2009 had a warmer respective figure than 3.6C. January 2010 didn't see one recording above zero. 2009 and 2013 had a warmer highest minimum though.

January 6 was the coldest day of the month. It dropped to -24.2C then and was only as warm as -18.5C. The -18.5C recording was the lowest daily maximum since January 18 in 2013. Again, only 2009 saw a warmer overall minimum than January 2014. Every other year saw at least one January day go below -25C.

January 1 was also responsible for the warmest temperature recorded in Finland during the month. It reached an almost balmy 7.5C in Kristiinakaupunki. January 11 saw the lowest overall when it dipped to -39.6C at Utsjoki.

Up and down temperatures from late December continued throughout January. There were four warm periods and three cold periods, as seen in the graph below. Despite having the highest averages of the past seven years, January 2015 recorded more days, eight, with a maximum at -10C or below than 2009, 2011 and 2013. 2012 also saw eight. On the other hand, the recording of 11 days above zero was the highest since 2009.

Daily minimums and maximums against rainfall at Jyväskylä Airport for January 2015

Precipitation was well above average in Jyväskylä during the month. FMI recorded a total of 75mm for Tikkakoski, compared to my 65.9mm. Either way, the 1981-2010 average of 45mm was easily surpassed, as well as 2014's recording of only 15mm. There were 24 days of precipitation. No month in 2014 saw such a high number.

January 2 recorded the highest daily total with 11.6mm. That was also the highest total in two and a half months. Including the 2nd, there were five days that saw more than 5mm recorded. A nine day streak of precipitation from the 23rd to the end of the month was the longest run, while there were two three day streaks of no falls, January 4 to 6 and 20 to 22.

Elsewhere in Finland, the highest monthly total was seen in Tornio. A total of 129mm was recorded there. Tornio also saw the highest daily total when 33.7mm fell on January 29. A three day period around the 29th saw a 30cm increase in snow depth.

While there were some falls on days that exceeded 0C in Jyväskylä, pretty much all precipitation fell as snow. As a result, snow depths were quite good for this time of year. It was 38cm deep by the middle of the month, above the 30cm average. At the same time in 2014, there was only 2cm. By the end of the month this year the depth had gone above 40cm, still a few centimetres above the average.

Mild and snowy in Finland, cool summer period in Sydney

Mild winter weather has continued in Finland during the past week. Since a rise on January 24, temperatures have stabilised mostly between -4C and 1C. In addition to the warmer temperatures, snow on January 31 and February 1 pushed the snow depth in Jyväskylä closer to 50cm.

Temperatures seen in the recent week have been reminiscent of those seen at the same time of year back in 2011. Other than that though, it has been rather mild for what is usually the coldest time of the year in Jyväskylä. Each of the last 10 days have seen daily maximums between -2.5C and 1.0C. January 29 was the highest of the period when it got to 0.8C.

Daily minimums have also been quite high. Not until today has a decline in temperatures been seen since January 24. The current daily low for today is -7.7C, the first time below -5C since the 24th. All other minimums between the 24th and today ranged between -3.5C and -1.6C.

Large bands of precipitation generated snow and wet snow across much of the southern half of the country during the weekend. Precipitation today pushed the current run of consecutive rain days to 11. The snow across Saturday and Sunday saw 3.0mm and 5.6mm recorded at Jyväskylä Airport. The snow depth at Tikkakoski now sits at 46cm.

Areas of snowfall spread further north too, where depths are now well above 50cm. Parts of Finland's Kainuu region are reporting depths above one metre at the moment. The ski centre at Paljakka, for example, has a current depth of 108cm.

Jyväskylä's Sepänkatu on February 1

Summer weather seems to have disappeared from Sydney lately. The Airport hasn't recorded a daily maximum above 26C since January 25, a current run of eight days. Only three of those eight went above 23C as well.

This prolonged period of cooler weather for summer isn't exceptional, but it's not common either. In 2009 the 10 days between February 9 and 18 didn't go above 26C, but the other years from 2010 to 2014 saw longest streaks of only four or five days below the mark up into early March. Forecasts suggest the current run could last another few days, with 26C or more not predicted until Saturday February 7.

At least the rain has stayed away since January 28. Final totals at Sydney Airport for January 27 and 28 amounted to 35.0mm and 23.8mm respectively. They helped the January total cross the 93.9mm average, as well as the 100mm mark.