Snow and deep frost disrupt travel across Finland

Alerts for poor driving conditions were in force through Saturday morning, with some regional warnings extending throughout the day. In northern Finland, the main concern is extreme cold. A frost warning covers the whole of Lapland, where temperatures early on Saturday ranged between minus 20 and minus 30 degrees Celsius. In some locations, readings fell even lower. Cold conditions are also tightening further south. Over the weekend and into early next week, temperatures in southern Finland are expected to fall to between minus 15 and minus 20 degrees. In central parts of the country, overnight lows near minus 30 degrees are possible. Despite the cold, conditions are expected to improve slightly after Saturday as snowfall weakens and skies clear in many areas. Visibility should improve once drifting snow eases. Long-range forecasts suggest the cold pattern will persist for several weeks. Foreca meteorologistJoanna Rinnesaid January’s first two full calendar weeks are expected to be colder than average across Finland. She said the week starting 5 January will bring less precipitation than usual but significantly lower temperatures nationwide. In Lapland, daytime temperatures of minus 20 to minus 30 degrees are forecast, with local lows near minus 40 degrees possible throughout the week. The coldest reading of the winter so far, minus 39.9 degrees, was recorded at Kilpisjärvi in Enontekiö on 2 January. Rinne said the cold spell extends beyond Finland, with much of Europe also experiencing below-average temperatures. The following week, starting 12 January, is also forecast to remain colder than normal. HT --- **News Source:** Helsinki Times **Original Article:** [https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/28381-snow-and-deep-frost-disrupt-travel-across-finland.html](https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/28381-snow-and-deep-frost-disrupt-travel-across-finland.html) *This article was originally published on helsinkitimes.fi and is shared here for informational purposes.*