Warm October temperatures across Finland, including in sunny Lapland

October was warmer than usual across Finland, with temperatures running 1 to 2.5 C  higher than the long-term average, the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) said.

“October was unusually warm throughout the whole country and exceptionally warm in some places,” the agency said in a statement this month. 

While many parts of the country saw milder weather, it was along the Gulf of Finland where conditions were especially unusual and several stations recorded their warmest October ever, largely due to unusually warm sea temperatures.

The highest temperature of the month, 15.9 C, was on October 11 in Porvoo, while the coldest spot in the country was in Lapland, where temperatures dropped to -15.1 C on October 31 at the Vuotso station in Sodankylä.

Sunny month in North

In northern Finland, the month saw a mix of sunshine and early snow.

At the start of October, Northern Lapland had light snow, but by mid-October, snow began to spread across parts of Kainuu and Koillismaa. By the end of the month, more snow had returned to the region, although overall snow cover was slightly below average.

Enontekiö’s Kaaresuvanto recorded the deepest snow of the month at 25 cm between October 12 and 14.

Despite the early snow, Lapland also saw more sunshine than expected for the time of year. In southern Finland, stations recorded between 100 and 140 hours of sunshine, while the North had around 70 to 95 hours. Sodankylä stood out with nearly 40 more hours of sunshine than usual—95 hours, a rare occurrence for the area, the FMI said.

“[It] is nearly 40 hours more than the long-term average,” the agency said. “Sodankylä sees this much sunshine less often than once in ten years.”

A wetter, western Lapland

Precipitation varied widely across the country, with the west seeing the heaviest rainfall.

In Tuorila, Merikarvia, a total of 117.3 mm of rain was recorded, the highest for any station in October. Meanwhile, Mikkeli saw the least amount of rain, with just 23 mm recorded at the Pitkäaho station. Western Lapland and the Gulf of Bothnia were notably wetter than usual, while the east and south had drier-than-average conditions. A particularly heavy downpour occurred on October 9, when the Sjundby station in Siuntio recorded 58.4 millimeters in just one day.

Related stories from around the North: 

Finland: Finnish Lapland sees season’s first snow cover, Yle News

Norway: Polar heat record. July average above 10°C, The Independent Barents Observer