THE MIDSUMMER WEEKEND will all but assuredly be bright and warm, reports YLE.
Day-temperature forecasts for the holiday weekend have risen since the beginning of the week, with the weather map highlighted in dark red in most parts of the country on Saturday and virtually all parts on Sunday – promising temperatures of at least 25°C.
“As if cut with a knife, the weather will turn sunny and warm on Friday,” said Joonas Koskela, a meteorologist at the Finnish public broadcasting company.
The change is attributable to the strengthening of a high-pressure front located south of Finland. Koskela said the forecast is about as certain as possible, in part because it is easier to predict the formation of a high-pressure system than a low-pressure system that delivers rain.
The high-pressure system, he added, will strengthen toward the end of the week, possibly pushing the mercury in some areas over 30°C on Sunday. The warm weather is expected to continue well into next week.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) similarly believes temperatures will rise toward Midsummer. The mean day temperature will stay above the 20°C-mark over the weekend, with readings of over 25°C possible as far up north as Kainuu and North Ostrobothnia on Sunday. Also night temperatures should remain relatively high, above 15°C.
FMI forecasts that the warm spell will end after the midway point of next week, giving way to more varying weather with the possibility of rain.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
