August and summer were normal in terms of temperatures in Finland – heavy rainfall in places
Correction: Headline of the press release updated; corrected "August and June" to "August and summer".
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s statistics, the average temperature in August varied between 11 and 17 °C at most observation stations in Finland. August’s average temperature was close to normal.
In August, there were three hot days when temperatures exceeded 25 °C, which is six days less than average. The number of hot days per observation station was 0 to 4 lower than usual.
The highest temperature in August, 26.6 °C, was recorded at Turku Airport and Kärkkä observation station in Salo on 15 August. The lowest temperature, -6.6 °C, was recorded at the Tulppio observation station in Savukoski, on 28 August.
Heavy rainfall in the northern part of the country in August
August was rainier than usual in the area extending from the central parts of the country to Southern and Western Lapland, and even exceptionally rainy in North Ostrobothnia and southwestern Lapland. In the southern and western parts of the country and in Eastern Lapland, on the other hand, there was less precipitation than usual in many places.
According to preliminary results, the Kaakkuri observation station in Tornio received the highest amount of rainfall per month, 189.2 mm. The lowest amount of precipitation, 11.9 mm., was recorded at the Itätulli observation station in Uusikaupunki. The highest 24-hour rainfall, 107.7 mm, was recorded at the Pelmaa observation station in Seinäjoki on 16 August.
In August, the number of thunderstorms was lower than usual. Approximately 8,400 cloud-to-ground lightning discharges were observed in Finland, while the average is 21,000.
In August, there were 120‒260 hours of sunshine. The number of sunshine hours was fairly normal in the southern and central parts of the country, but smaller than usual in the north.
The summer’s average temperature was close to normal
The entire summer, i.e. June-August, was widely 0 to 1 °C warmer than usual in Finland, i.e. fairly close to normal. The average summer temperature for the whole of Finland was 14.7 °C.
This summer’s highest temperature was 31.1 °C, which was recorded at the Pyhtää airport on 12 July. The lowest temperature, -6.6 °C, was measured at Tulppio in Savukoski, on 15 August.
From May to August, there were 35 hot days, i.e., days with temperatures exceeding 25 °C, in some parts of Finland, while the long-term average for the period is 36 days. However, the number of hot days was 2–8 days lower than usual per observation station.
In the southern and central parts of the country, 2–10 summer days more, i.e. days when the temperatures rise to more than 20 °C, were measured, while in the north, the number of summer days was 2–8 days lower than average.
Strong regional variation in summer precipitation, fewer lightning discharges than usual
The early summer in Finland was warm. However, in July, cooler air occasionally flowed into the country, turning the weather more unstable. Heavy rainfall per hour and per day occurred in places.
June–August was rainier than usual in a large part of the country, and in the northern part of the country in particular, the summer was unusually rainy in some places. However, there were also areas in the southern and central parts of the country where the summer rainfall was lower than usual.
According to preliminary data, the highest amount of precipitation was recorded in Sarakylä, Pudasjärvi, totalling 373.7 mm. The least amount of precipitation in the summer was 135.1 mm recorded at the Isokari weather station in Kustavi.
In the summer, there were less thunderstorms than usual. By the end of August, approximately 29,000 cloud-to-ground lightning discharges were observed, while the average for a normal period is about 81,000 cloud-to-ground lightning discharges. There were only a few individual days with heavy lightning discharges: the highest number of cloud-to-ground lightning discharges, approximately 5,600, was recorded on 16 August.
The amount of sunshine was lower than usual throughout the country: the total number of sunshine hours was approximately 510–850 hours.
Further information:
Weather statistics from the Climate Service, tel. +358 600 1 0601 (€ 4.06/min + local network fee)
