The Finns are preparing to receive the second heat wave this summer. A general rise in temperatures that, according to the meteorologists, will raise mercury above the 30-degree level in some parts of the country. The reason is a wide mass of warm air which is flowing to the country.
The heat began to be felt last week, with temperatures above 25 degrees in the south of the country, which delighted locals and visitors in touristic areas such as Helsinki and Porvoo. In fact, Finnish media showed how many Finns took advantage of the weekend to go for a swim in one of the many lakes and beaches that exist in the area.
The good weather continued on Saturday around the capital and in other areas such as Tampere. On Sunday, 28.7 degrees were recorded also in Niinisalo, in the Satakunta region.
On Monday 22 July, the weather map published by the Finnish Meteorological Institute (Ilmatieteen Laitos) already showed temperatures of 29 degrees in Oulu and Vaasa, and more than 28 degrees near Rovaniemi and in the northernmost part of Lapland. But the heat will not end at this point.
For Tuesday 23 July, the official weather forecast predicts that the mercury will overcome the 30-degree barrier in Oulu and, in general, it will remain above 25 or 26 degrees in most of the country.
These are unusually high temperatures for the country of snow and ice. However, as meteorologists remind, the highest values were already recorded at the beginning of last June, with temperatures above 32 degrees in Oulu and 31 degrees in Kokkola.
A cool break on Wednesday
The Finnish Meteorological Institute expects that high temperatures will give a break on Wednesday 24 July, when the high values of the previous days will be moderated.
Thus, although temperatures of up to 27 degrees will be still enjoyed in some points of the southern half of the country, the general trend from Wednesday will be values between 23 and 25 degrees across the country.
Those descents will even come accompanied by some showers of rain that will cool the atmosphere. The rain will be noticed specifically in the northernmost areas of Lapland and also in the Tampere region, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute. Later, temperatures are expected to raise again in the weekend.
Warmer than Canary Islands
The Finnish media have been giving wide coverage to the heat wave, which in other places in southern Europe (for example in Central Spain) left temperatures of up to 38 degrees.
Even so, according to the tabloid Ilta Sanomat, many Finns regret these days of having booked their holidays abroad at the beginning of this summer, which began to be much colder.
In fact, the newspaper highlighted that in some places like Tampere last week there were ten degrees more than in some points of the Canary Islands and that the values were also higher in Finland than in some Mediterranean holiday destinations such us Cyprus, Rhodes and Duvrovnik.
*Weather maps in this article by the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
