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.