Blizzard brings hazardous road conditions to North Finland
Authorities warned of hazardous driving conditions in the northeast and of train delays in eastern Finland. where a track fault was repaired on Sunday afternoon. Southern areas may see more snow and subzero nights this week.
Damage to an electric rail track in eastern Finland disrupted train traffic between Parikkala and Joensuu on Sunday, according to Fintraffic.
The damage was in Kitee, North Karelia, some 65 kilometres south of Joensuu and roughly 20km from the Russian border.
The glitch caused passenger rail delays of 30 to 90 minutes beginning on Sunday morning.
Fintraffic’s rail traffic centre said at around 1:30pm that repair work on the electric track damage had just begun. It estimated that the work would take four hours.
The fault was repaired shortly before 4pm, with service re-starting soon afterwards. However some knock-on delays are still possible.
Up to 30cm of snow
Meanwhile, heavy snow has snarled traffic further north in eastern Finland.
Kuusamo and Salla received 20–30 centimetres of snow on Sunday, making driving conditions very poor. Kuusamo is in Koillismaa, the northeastern corner of North Ostrobothnia, while Salla is in Eastern Lapland.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) told the Finnish news agency STT on Sunday afternoon that strong winds were creating snowdrifts, so there was even more new snow than that in some places.
It predicted that snowfall would continue in the area throughout Sunday.
Driving conditions were slightly better north of Kuusamo, where road surfaces were below freezing. Further south in Kainuu, though, road temperatures were above freezing, causing potentially dangerous driving conditions.
There is a chance of snow in other parts of Eastern Finland on Sunday, with rain showers elsewhere in the country.
Daytime temperatures were projected to be mostly 4-9 degrees Celsius on Sunday and Monday, but staying below freezing in parts of Lapland. Overnight lows are set to drop to between +1 to -10.
The FMI warned that winds could be dangerously strong from the Åland Islands up to eastern Lapland. Those gusty northerly winds are expected to calm down overnight. It also warns of poor driving in many other parts of northern Finland besides Kuusamo and Salla.
Subzero nights, snowy mornings still possible in the South
Temperatures are set to remain unseasonably cool in southern Finland.
“Last night it fell slightly below freezing even as far south as Helsinki Airport,” meteorologist Iiris Idoko said on Sunday afternoon.
Temperatures may dip below zero throughout the country over the next few nights, so outdoor plants may be at risk of frost. And motorists should be aware that there may be snow or sleet showers in parts of Pirkanmaa, Satakunta and Central Finland late Monday and early Tuesday.
5.15pm: Updated with rail repair.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Unseasonably mild weather wreaking havoc on N.W.T. winter roads, CBC News
Finland: Finland’s roads remain hazardous following first winter storm, including Lapland, Yle News
Norway: Polar heat record. July average above 10°C, The Independent Barents Observer
Sweden: Snow, wind storms hammer Sweden, power cuts in North, Radio Sweden
