Finland sees record warmest autumn in 90 years

This autumn (September–November) was unusually or exceptionally warm almost throughout the whole country, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).

For example, Rankki in Kotka recorded the warmest autumn of its observation history of over 90 years, said FMI in a press release on Thursday.

‘The average autumn temperature in the entire Finland makes this the fourth warmest autumn in our recording history. Autumn 2020 was the warmest one and only about 0.17 degrees warmer than this autumn,’ said meteorologist Pauli Jokinen.

The average temperature in the autumn varied from about 1 degrees in north-west arm of Finnish Lapland to 10 degrees Celsius along the country’s southern coast.

The highest temperature for the month, 28 degrees Celsius, was recorded in Kaarina and Turku on 5 September.

The lowest temperature, minus 27.3 degrees Celsius, was measured at Tulppio in Savukoski, on 28 November.

Precipitation levels were higher than usual in the western part of the country and in Northern Lapland, while the area from North Karelia to South Karelia remained below the long-term average.

According to preliminary data, precipitation was the highest at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, where the precipitation level was 316.5 millimetres in the September-November period.

The lowest amount of precipitation, 105.4 millimetres, was recorded at the Mekrijärvi observation station in Ilomantsi.

The average temperature in November varied between approximately 5 degrees in the south-western archipelago and minus 5 degrees in Central Lapland.

The average temperature was mostly 1‒2 degrees above the average of the reference period 1991‒2020; in Northern Lapland, the average temperature was 3‒4 degrees above the average.

The highest temperature of the month, 12.6 degrees, was measured at Nellim in Inari on 8 November. The lowest temperature of the month, minus 27.3 degrees, was measured at Tulppio in Savukoski on 28 November.

Precipitation in November was higher than usual in the southern and western parts of the country and in Northern Lapland, and in places from Uusimaa to Pirkanmaa it was unusually rainy. In North Ostrobothnia and Southern Lapland, precipitation levels were lower than usual.

According to preliminary information, precipitation in November was the heaviest in Pirttikoski in Hämeenlinna, at 137.3 millimetres.

The lowest rainfall was at the Kemijärvi airport, 23.2 mm. The highest volume of precipitation recorded in a single day, 43.9 millimetres, was measured at the Sallila observation station in Huittinen on 25 November.

At the end of November, there was snow mainly in the area from Kainuu to Lapland (5–20 centimetres) and in Northern Lapland (20–40 centimetres).

On 1 November, the storm Lyly caused snowfall in the southern and western parts of the country, and the Kylmäpihlaja observation station in Rauma measured the first hurricane-level reading in Finnish sea areas: the average wind speed reached 33.5 m/s. On 20–21 November, the storm Jari also brought snow in its wake to the southern and central parts of the country, but by the end of the month, the snow from both storms had mostly melted in the southern and central parts of the country.

In November, hours of sunshine ranged from 6 hours in Kevo in Utsjoki to approximately 43 hours in Artukainen in Turku. The number of sunshine hours was usual.