Long, warm summer, particularly in Lapland

Summer temps were a bit higher than average throughout Finland, with Lapland being exceptionally warm. June and August were warmer than normal, while mean temperatures were reported for July.

Photo: Eija Vallinheimo

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), the mean temperature for August was higher than normal throughout the country. Temperatures ranged from just over 17°C in the south and west coastal regions of Finland, to just under 13°C in the Käsivarsi region of Lapland. The biggest deviation from the long-term average was reported in the northernmost areas of Lapland, where temperatures were well over 3°C above normal levels. Smaller deviations, approximately 1°C, were reported in the western parts of Finland.

The highest temperature of the month, 28.6°C, was measured in Nurmijärvi on 7 August and the lowest temperature, minus 2.5°C in Pelso, Vaala on 31 August. There were a total of 9 hot days, which is the average number for August. The last hot day was reported on 9 August, when the temperature in Lappeenranta climbed to 25.1°C, just over the minimum for hot days.

Precipitation levels for the month varied widely in different parts of the country. Southern and eastern Finland saw considerably more rain than in western and northern regions. Lapland received the least precipitation, with levels in some areas remaining below 40 mm. On the other end of the spectrum, precipitation levels exceeded 100 mm across a belt extending from Uusimaa to southern parts of Central Finland and in some parts of North Karelia. Some areas within this belt reported levels in excess of 120 mm. This is nearly one-and-a-half times the long-term average.

Of the measurements taken at individual observation stations, the most precipitation was reported at Joutsa, which recorded a total of 164 mm. The lowest amount of precipitation, 15 mm, was reported at Kittilä parish. At the beginning of the month, high 24-hour rainfall levels were measured in some parts of southern and eastern Finland. The largest 24-hour rainfall accumulation, 63.7 mm was measured in Urajärvi, Asikkala on 14 August.

Summer in Lapland exceptionally warm and long

According to FMI statistics, this past summer was a warm one. The mean temperature for summer months (June-August) ranged from just over 17°C in southeastern Finland to just under 13°C in the Käsivarsi region of Lapland. Summer temperatures were higher than normal throughout the country, with deviations being more pronounced in eastern and northern areas of Finland than in western areas. The most significant deviation was just over 2°C in northern Lapland and the smallest deviation was just under 1°C on the west coast of Finland.

Individual monthly mean temperatures were quite close to one another. June and August were warmer than normal, while the mean temperature for July was close to the long-term average. In central and northern Finland, summer was, in some cases, exceptionally warm - summer temperatures this high occur on average only once every ten years. For example, the only time in the past 50 years that summer temperatures in Kevo, Utsjoki have been higher was in 1972. In the 2000s, warmer temperatures were reported in most of the country in 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2011. Thermal summer began in May throughout the country, whereas it statistically begins at the end of June in northern Lapland. Conversely, thermal autumn had not begun at the end of August anywhere in Finland, even though statistically it begins throughout Lapland by the end of that month. This year, the thermal summer was, indeed, exceptionally long.

The highest temperature of the summer, 32.4°C, was measured at Tuiskavanluoto, Liperi on 26 June and lowest temperature, minus 2.7°C at Ojakylä, Pyhäjärvi on 13 June. There were 9 hot days in May and August and 17 in June and July. In May and June, there were significantly more hot days than normal, while July and August had a normal number of hot days. During the May-June period, observation stations measured the most hot days in Salo-Kärkkä, Utti, Kouvola and Anjala, Kouvola, each of which reported 25 hot days.

Further information:

August weather statistics: http://ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/elokuuSummer weather statistics: http://ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/kesa-2013