Country experiences unusual chilly weather in July

The July was unusually chilly in many parts of southern and central Finland, according to the statistics of the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

The last time the month was chillier in southern and western parts of the country was in 1996, while eastern and northern parts of Finland last experienced lower average temperatures in 2015.

The average temperature in July ranged between about 13 and 16 degrees Celsius. The southern and eastern parts of the country, the Oulu region and southwestern Lapland were the warmest areas of Finland.

The lowest average temperatures were recorded in northern Lapland and in western Finland. In southern and central parts of the country, in northern Ostrobothnia and in southern parts of Kainuu, the temperatures were between 1 and 2.5 degrees below average.

In eastern and northern Lapland, the temperatures were between 0.5 and 1 degree above average.

The highest temperature of the month, 27.6 degrees, was recorded at Kevo in Utsjoki on 28 July.

The lowest temperature, minus 1.6 degrees, was recorded at the Lompolonvuoma observation station in Kittilä on 7 July.

There were a total of ten hot days (days with temperatures reaching 25 degrees) in Finland this July, compared with the long-term average of 16 days.

The small number of hot days is not unique. The last time the number of hot days in July was lower was in 2015. However, most of the hot days this July occurred in northern parts of Finland, whereas in the southern and central parts of the country, the 25-degree limit was only exceeded on three days.

The warmest places in Finland in July were Oulu, Rovaniemi and Utsjoki, where the limit exceeded four times during the month. At the same time, there have not yet been any hot days this summer in the zone stretching from Ostrobothnia to Kainuu.

In southern and southwestern parts of Finland, there were a total of between 250 and 300 hours of sunshine this July, while the figure for the rest of the country was between 200 and 250 hours. In northern Lapland and in the southwestern archipelago, the number of sunshine hours was almost normal, whereas in other parts of Finland the total was between 20 and 50 hours below long-term average.

Western parts of the country experienced the lowest number of sunshine hours and in these areas of Finland, the total for July was as much as 90 hours below the long-term average.

As is typical of the summer months, the rainfall this July was distributed unevenly in different parts of Finland. Precipitation ranged from nearly 30 mm in southwestern Finland to more than 100 mm in northern Lapland.

In some areas of northern Lapland, precipitation was unusually high, while in some parts of southwestern and western Finland, the month of July was exceptionally dry. Kevo at Utsjoki was the place in Finland with the highest precipitation in July (161 mm). In fact, this was the highest rainfall for July at the observation station since the records began in 1962. The highest amount of rain in a 24-hour period, 56.5 mm, was recorded at Pulju in Kittilä on 5 July.