Country sees coldest March in 5 years

The temperature in March this year was two to five degrees Celsius colder than the average in many parts of the country, said the Met Office.

The greatest deviations in temperature were in the eastern part of the country and the northern region of Finnish Lapland. The last time March witnesses a temperature colder than this was in 2013.

The highest temperature in March, 8.6°C, was recorded in Jomala on March 25, and the lowest temperature, minus 35.7°C, was recorded at Kevojärvi in Utsjoki on March 7.

Precipitation in March varied from about 20 millimetres in the southwest and Finnish Lapland to about 50 millimetres in North Karelia.

Precipitation in the southwest and in Finnish Lapland was about half of what is normal, which is unusual. On the other hand, Savo and North Karelia experienced more precipitation than is normal. The highest precipitation of 55.4 millimetres was observed at Koli in Lieksa and the lowest precipitation of minus 7.8 millimetres in Muonio.

The depth of snow at the end of March varied between less than 10 centimetres on the southwest coast to more than a metre locally in North Karelia and Kainuu. In many areas of the country, the amount of snow was slightly higher than is usual for the period. In the area extending from Ostrobothnia to North Karelia there were unusually high snow levels of 20 to 30 centimetres above average.