A winter with few hours of sunshine
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the mean temperature for February ranged from about -2° C on the west coast to about -10° C in some areas of Northern Lapland. Seen against the long-term average, February was milder than normally in the whole of Finland
The greatest difference, or about five degrees Celsius, was measured in the easternmost areas of Finland, and the smallest difference, 1–2 degrees, in Enontekiö and in the northernmost Lapland. The lowest temperature for the month was -34.0° C, recorded in Kevojärvi, Utsjoki on 7 February. The highest temperature was 8.0° C, measured in Jomala, in the Åland Islands, on 27 February.
Monthly precipitation was the highest in Uusimaa and in some localities of Eastern Finland and Northwest Lapland, where the precipitation reached 30 to 40 millimetres. The least precipitation was recorded in Northern Lapland, where the figure was around 10 mm. Among individual observation stations, the most precipitation was measured in Kumpula, Helsinki, where the monthly figure was 44.8 millimetres. The lowest figure was 5.5 mm, measured in Nellim, Inari. The greatest daily precipitation was 16.9 mm, measured in Urajärvi, Asikkala, on 8 February.
At the end of the month, the thickest snow cover on the ground was 70–90 cm in Western Lapland. In southern and central parts of the country, the snow cover was about half a metre; in the west, however, it was less. When compared against the long-term average at this time of the year, snow thickness was more or less normal in most of Finland.
The least number of sunshine hours for 50 years in some areas
The most significant feature of the weather in winter 2012–2013 was the small number of sunshine hours. There was clearly less sunshine than average throughout the country; in some localities, the figure was the lowest for the past 50 years.
The mean temperature for the winter months, or the period from December to February, ranged from about -3° C in Southwest Finland to nearly -12° C in Northwest Lapland. When compared against the long-term average, the mean temperature was slightly lower than usually in Southern and Western Finland. The coldest mean temperature in relation to the long-term average was measured in Southwest Finland, where it was nearly one degree colder than average. The eastern and northern parts of the country had somewhat milder weather than usually. The greatest difference to average temperatures was recorded in Northern Lapland, where the mean temperatures in many areas were over one degree milder than usually. The lowest temperature, -36.1° C, was measured in Kevojärvi, Utsjoki on 28 January. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, this was the first winter since 2007–2008 when the temperature did not fall to -40° C.
Precipitation for the winter months exceeded 120 millimetres in Southern Finland and in some localities in Western Finland, whereas in Northern Lapland precipitation was under 70 millimetres. Precipitation figures were lower than the long-term average in most of Finland. The greatest differences were recorded in Eastern Finland and Northern Lapland, where precipitation in some localities was just over half of the normal figures. Precipitation was above average only on the Åland Islands and in some localities in Uusimaa, in the Suomenselkä region and in Western Lapland. Among individual observation stations, the most precipitation was measured in Kumpula, Helsinki, where the figure was 183 millimetres. The lowest amount, 34 millimetres, was recorded in Näkkälä, Enontekiö. The highest daily precipitation, 30.7 millimetres, was measured in Torppi, Tornio, on 30 January.
Additional information:
Annual statistics: http://ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/vuositilastot
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