Jyväskylä on the brink of summer, dry week in Sydney

The gradual arrival of summer in Jyväskylä this year has received a boost during this week. While that somewhat magical mark of 20C hasn't been surpassed yet, Monday through to Friday have seen maximums above 15C. This is the first string of five days above 15C since the middle of September last year.

The 20C barrier will surely be broken next week. Forecasts show Wednesday June 3 to be the first day. It has a current predicted maximum of 24C. The days following that are also predicted to be around 20C. With May ending on Sunday though, 2015 will be the only year since 2009 for Jyväskylä to not see a day in May above 20C.

One milestone for the year was surpassed on Wednesday May 27. The minimum at Tikkakoski held in double figures, right on 10.0C, for the first time since September 5. Compared to years since 2009, May 27 is the equal third latest. 2011 and 2012 didn't see a minimum at 10C or above until June 1 and 10, respectively. 2010, on the other hand saw the first occurrence on May 14.

Despite May 27's minimum at 10C, other minimums this week have been much lower at Jyväskylä Airport than predictions given by the Finnish Meteorological Institute last week. As a result, the overall average minimum for the month will be more than 1C lower than what had been predicted in my mid-month May progress post from May 19.

The sky over Jyväskylä on the morning of May 28

Another period of dry weather set in in Sydney this week. A run of five days of precipitation at Sydney Airport ended last Sunday and 0.2mm of rain this morning just before 8am is the only recording since then. Temperatures have also been fairly warm for this time of the year. Only Tuesday this week didn't exceed 20C. The long term average daily maximum for late May is around 19C.

The next few days will be more wintry though. May 31 through to June 5 currently don't have any predicted maximums higher than 18C and Tuesday June 2 could see morning temperatures dip to a chilly 6C. The minimum of 7.3C from May 14, one of only five minimums below 10C, remains the lowest so far this year.