Finland sees mild temperatures in October

October was milder than usual throughout the country, according to Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Average temperatures for the month varied between 0 and 1 degree Celsius in the northwest of Finnish Lapland to and about 10 degrees Celsius in the Southwest Archipelago.

The average temperature for October was mostly about two degrees above the average for the 1991-2020 normal period.

Especially in the southwest of Finland, but locally also in other areas, October was unusually mild, which means that average the temperatures recorded in October this year occur on average once every 10 years or less.

The highest temperature for the month, 16.0 degrees Celsius, was measured at Kilpilahti harbour in Porvoo on 7 October. October’s lowest temperature, minus 14.4 degrees Celsius, was measured on the 27th of the month at Kittilä Airport.

The month’s precipitation was generally at normal levels or slightly higher. Precipitation was below normal October levels on the south coast and locally in the east.

According to initial information, precipitation in October was heaviest in Pirttikoski in Hämeenlinna, at 98.5 millimetres. Precipitation was lowest at the Lepola observation station in Lappeenranta, at 29.7 millimetres.

The greatest amount of precipitation in a single day, 26.5 millimetres, was measured at the Itätulli observation station in Uusikaupunki.

In the night between October 16 and 17 an unseasonably powerful thunderstorm system moved in from the southwest.

Very strong gusts occurred along the south coast in that connection, the strongest of which was 39.2 m/s measured on Russarö in Hanko. In connection with the intense storm, 129 cloud-to ground discharges were recorded in Finland.

At the end of the month, the area with snow cover was slightly less extensive than usual. There was about 5–14 centimetres of snow mainly in Central and Northern Lapland.

Observation stations recorded a fairly normal number of hours with sunshine, but in Utsjoki in the far north, there were fewer sunny hours than usual.