March brought milder-than-usual weather to Lapland
The beginning of March brought milder-than-usual weather to Finland’s northern Lapland region, then gradually cooled as the month wound down, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) said in their monthly weather review for the country.
“In most parts of the country, the average temperature in March was 1.5–3 degrees above the average of the 1991–2020 reference period,” the FMI said in a statement. “The last time March was approximately as warm in Finland was in 2022.”
The average temperature in northern Lapland was -6 C, compared to 1C in southwest Finland.
- Average temperature in northern Lapland: -6C
- Lowest temperature: -31C in Tulppio, Savukoski
- Snow accumulation: over 100cm in some places
Fog was also a common feature of Finnish weather in March, especially in the South, with a decrease in sunlight hours compared to the norm being a significant contributing factor, the FMI said.
“The southern and central parts of the country saw exceptionally few hours of sunshine,” it said. “The large number of foggy days partly explains the low number of sunshine hours. On the southern coast, about half of the days of the month were foggy.”
The lowest temperature in the country was on March 25 in Tulppio, Savukoski, in the eastern part of Lapland where the reading was -31C.
Snow accumulation in North and East
Data from Central Lapland recorded snow depths exceeding 100cm in certain areas, the highest in the country alongside Kainuu, a region in eastern Finland.
“At the end of March, the southern and western parts of the country were already snow-free in places,” the FMI said. “In the eastern and northern parts of the country, on the other hand, snow depth was still over half a metre in many places.”
Despite Lapland experiencing the most snow and the coldest temperatures in March, it also received the least precipitation, with just 13.4 mm recorded at the Näkkälä observation station in Enontekiö.
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Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Time is running out for Dawson City, Yukon ice bridge, CBC News
Finland: Lapland seeing high waters, unusually heavy snow, Yle News
Sweden: Heavier rainfall will increase risk of landslides and flooding in Sweden, Radio Sweden.
United States: Arctic weather satellite leaving Europe for June launch in U.S., Eye on the Arctic
