As showers and thunderstorms move across the southwest, the crew aboard a Western Finland Coast Guard surveillance aircraft spotted a high-speed waterspout touching down in the Finnish Archipelago on Friday morning.
 The team managed to film the meteorological spectacle, which took place near the island municipality of Pargas.
 Waterspouts are formed by water droplets from clouds as well as seawater, brought together by strong, spinning winds, according to Yle meteorologist  Kerttu Kotakorpi .
 The combination of thunderstorms and strong winds commonly produce so-called funnel clouds, which are cone shaped protuberances from the cloud base, Kotakorpi explained.
 "If winds are strong enough, the funnel cloud reaches the sea level," she said.
 Wind speeds of at least 18 m/s are needed to form a waterspout, a weather phenomenon that can cause major damage at sea as well as on land. In North America, the more powerful variations of waterspouts are known as tornadoes and significantly more dangerous.
 The weather in southern, south-western and western areas of the country will be rather wet on Saturday, with heavy rains and autumn temperatures expected.
 However the day will be calmer in eastern and northern regions, featuring temperatures hovering above or below 15 degrees Celsius, and about 10 degrees in the north.


Finland suffered a second poor harvest in a row last year, the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) confirmed on Thursday.
 Last autumn marked a second poor grain harvest in a row, according to  Anneli Partala , a senior actuary at Luke.
 "Extreme shifts in weather conditions have affected the harvest size," she explained. "Summer and fall of 2017 were rainy and last year the weather was too dry."
 Hanna Aho , a climate justice expert from Kepa, a development NGO, previously told Yle News that temperature swings in Finland were  affecting domestic food production .
 Finnish farms sold over half of the 2.7-billion-kilo grain harvest they produced last year. The majority of grain produced in Finland is used to feed livestock. Rye is the only grain exclusively used in food production.
 Lack of fodder curbs livestock
 Many farms are now trying to cope with having less animal feed, making efforts to conserve fodder and sourcing it anywhere they can.
 "Figures show a drop in animal numbers — with some livestock production ending and some domestic animals being taken to slaughter," said Partala.
 Last year, grain exports sank to the lowest level in decades, with a quarter of cereals sold by farms headed overseas.
 Oat and barley were the most popular Finnish export cereals.


After two summers with below-average rainfall, lake water levels are exceptionally low in many parts of Finland, and private wells are running dry.
 For instance, residents around Lake Särkemä near Hämeenlinna estimate that the lake water level is 60 cm below normal.
 Markku Rantti , head of the local Kokkila village association, says some wells in the area only have about 20 cm of water at the bottom.
 Conditions are driest in central Finland, southern Kainuu and North Savo. This is a result of scarce precipitation in July and August. Based on long-term statistics in Finland, such low rainfall levels typically only occur once every 30 years or so.
 "The driest place seems to be around Kuopio," says  Bertel Vehviläinen , chief hydrologist at the Finnish Environment Institute.
 Recent rains will not provide any immediate relief. Rather, regular, plentiful rains are needed through the autumn, at least in central parts of the country, he tells Yle.
 "The worst is if winter comes early"
 "It's raining there now, but that doesn't make it down to the groundwater level. First it fills the surface levels of the soil," Vehviläinen says.
 Before winter begins most areas need 100-200 mm of rain, he estimates. The average monthly rainfall is less than 60 mm. As winter usually begins in November in central Finland, there are only a couple of months left.
 Rain is more effective at replenishing the groundwater in autumn than in summer, as it does not evaporate from the soil due to cooler temperatures. During a snowy winter, though, groundwater aquifers do not refill at all.
 "The worst is if winter comes early. Then the wells will remain dry until next spring," says Vehviläinen.
 Snow is still common in April in most of Finland, even into June in the north.


Finland aims to be carbon neutral by the year 2035, but what changes does that demand? And what adjustments can you make to your everyday life to help?
 Our guests Riina Pursiainen, vice-chair of the Finnish chapter of Youth Agenda 2030, and Amanda Rejström of social enterprise Spark Sustainability explore the issue in the week school students across the world--and in Finland--are out on the streets protesting against inaction on climate change.
 Join the conversation
 If you have any questions, or would like to share something on your mind, just contact us via WhatsApp on +358 44 421 0909, on our Facebook or Twitter accounts, or at yle.news@yle.fi.
 The All Points North podcast is a weekly look at what's going on in Finland. Subscribe viaiTunes (and leave a review!), listenon Spotify andYle Areena or find it on your favourite podcatching app or via ourRSS feed.
 This week's presenters were  Ronan Browne  and  Egan Richardson.  The show's producer was  Priya Ramachandran D'souza , and this week's sound technician was  Joonatan Kotila .


A special report published this week by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) focused on the dangers posed by melting ice cover, rising sea levels, warming and changing ocean chemistry and the prospect of more extreme coastal weather events.
 Earlier projections  have forecast that climate change will impact Finland by bringing shorter, wetter winters to southern parts of the country. It is possible that the volume of snowfall will not decline, but the accumulation of snow will as it melts without longer periods of sub-zero temperatures.
 Northern regions are warming at a faster pace than other parts of the globe, narrowing the environmental niche occupied by species such as Finland's Saimaa ringed seal and wolverines that  need snow banks for dens  where they birth and raise their young.
 Story continues after photo.
 Without frozen lakes and drifting snow, Finland’s endangered Saimaa ringed seal will face extinction.  Yle
 Warmer temperatures are also expected to lead to the spread of forests across the fells of  Finnish Lapland , crowding out the indigenous plant life that now thrives there. The Arctic fox, an iconic denizen of the fells, has already become a rarity and  other species may well disappear .
 A rise in winter temperatures will also increase the destruction of forests. When the forest floor is not frozen, trees are more likely to be downed by the winds of winter storms. Forests are likely to be confronted by new insect pests, as well, a development already being observed in southern parts of Finland.
 Warmer, less salty seawater
 Changes are also being registered in the Baltic Sea. The University of Turku's research station on the island of Seili the southwestern archipelago has been monitoring the temperature and salinity of waters in the area since 1967.
 Decades of data show transformations in surface waters, the topmost layer usually going down around 20 metres.
 "The salinity of these sea waters has declined half a per mille, while at the same time, the temperature of surface waters has risen by around 1.5 degrees," says Associate Professor  Jari Hänninen  of the Biodiversity Unit of the University of Turku.
 Story continues after photo.
 An automated research station has been monitoring water quality off the coast of the island of Seili since 2006.  Markku Sandell / Yle
 This observation is in line with forecasts of an increase of fresh water runoff into the Baltic Sea, reducing its overall salt content. At the same time, it backs projections of rising temperatures.
 The Baltic climate is influenced by climatic conditions in the North Atlantic and changes happening there.
 "All of the water coming into the Baltic comes from the North Atlantic," points out Hänninen.
 Through evaporation, fresh water makes its way into the Baltic region as clouds. Rain from these clouds drains through river systems into the Baltic Sea.
 Salt water from the North Sea enters the Baltic through the Danish straits, but the flow has diminished because of the higher rate of fresh water runoff from surrounding landmasses.
 Because of mild winters, precipitation in the form of rain and melting snow is flowing into the Baltic Sea faster than in the past, raising the sea level. This in turn prevents the inflow of saltier water from the North Sea which is a largely seasonal phenomenon associated with winter storms.
 Story continues after photo
 Professor Jari Hänninen watches as student Johannes Sahlstedt retrieves a plankton sample. Markku Sandell / Yle
 Under these circumstances, there is no room for saltwater "pulses" to enter the main basin of the Baltic, blocking these oxygen-laden waters from flowing into the depths of the sea. This is a change that began developing in the mid-1980s.
 The depths of the Baltic have suffered from hypoxia -  a lack of an adequate supply of oxygen  - for a long time, and no prospect of an improvement is in sight.
 Overburdened by nutrients
 Not only does the future of the Baltic Sea contain more fresh water, it will also contain higher concentrations of nutrients, bringing more eutrophication, overloading of the sea bottom with organic materials, and an accelerated loss of oxygen.
 This will impact not only the deepest parts of the sea, but also more shallow waters, as well.
 The Baltic Sea is home to a mixture of freshwater and saltwater species. As its salinity declines, saltwater species, such as the Baltic herring are coming under pressure. In contrast, freshwater species are thriving.
 Story continues after photo.
 The average size of Baltic herring has decreased significantly since the 1980s. Monica Forssell / Yle
 Monitoring of plankton and Baltic herring by the University of Turku's Archipelago Research Institute has found changes in the diet of herring in these waters as larger copepods, a kind of crustacean that the fish feed on, have disappeared. As a result, herring in the area have, on average, lost a quarter of their length and up to half of their weight since the 1980s.
 "Baltic herring will surely not disappear from the archipelago, but in future, most of the catch will maybe come from the south of the Baltic where salinity levels are staying higher," explains Hänninen.
 Less ice
 The University of Turku's Seili research station lies just north of the village of Nauvo, a boat trip of around half an hour. Jari Hänninen recalls that during the 1990's it was possible to drive by car there across the ice in the winter.
 Story continues after photo.
 With warming temperatures, there will be less winter ice cover off Finland's coasts. Timo Viitanen / AOP
 In recent years, the sea has frozen over no earlier than in February and thawed in March. During that short time, travel by snowmobile or small ATV has been possible, but the trip can no longer be made by car.
 The lack of ice cover has and will impact the lives of residents and visitors in the archipelago, but it is not expected that sea levels will rise in the Gulf of Bothnia, even as melting glacial ice raises the levels of the earth's oceans.
 The land area of Finland is still springing back from the weight of the glaciers which covered it during the last ice age. So, coastal areas are rising faster than projected sea levels. It's likely to be a different story along the south coast, however, where a study by the Finnish Meteorological Institute says the risk of flooding will grow significantly by the end of the century.


Two centimetres of snow covered northern Lapland on Sunday morning, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), which noted that the end of September was a typical time for the first snow to fall in northern Lapland.
 Meteorologists must record at least one centimeter of snow for the event to classify as first snowfall, said the FMI.
 “The northwestern ‘arm’ of Finland can also expect snow on Sunday,” said  Pyry Poutanen  from the FMI. “A cold air mass is hovering above northern Lapland, causing snow or sleet.”
 Southern parts of the country will have to wait a few more weeks to see the white stuff, which usually arrives by November.


An intense low pressure system that arrived in Finland early Tuesday morning will result in heavy rain and stormy conditions in coastal areas, meteorologists say.
 Central Finland and Ostrobothnia are expected to receive up to half of the average rainfall expected for the entire month of October. The rain will travel east from Ostrobothnia through Central Finland in the afternoon. These areas could experience rainfall of up to 20-40 millimetres by 9am Wednesday.
 "The average rainfall for October in these areas is approximately 50 to 70 millimetres, and they could receive half of that now," Yle meteorologist  Joonas Koskela  said.
 Päijät-Häme in southern Finland recorded more than 30 millimetres of rain in the morning. The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has issued heavy rain warnings for central Finland, north Savo, north Karelia and south Ostrobothnia, and strong wind warnings for areas in southern and northern Finland.
 The stormy weather could result in trees being knocked down and might cause temporary electricity outages.
 Coastal areas already facing stormy conditions
 Coastal areas recorded high winds on Tuesday morning. The strongest winds were measured in southwest coastal areas, reaching more than 23.5 metres per second off Hanko, mainland Finland's southernmost point.
 Despite the strong winds and rain, Tuesday’s weather will probably not be officially classified as a storm, as the average wind speed is not expected to exceed 21 metres per second.
 The FMI has also issued a warning to seafarers about strong winds and moderate waves from Tuesday to Wednesday morning.
 Yet another warm September
 According to Koskela, Tuesday will be the rainiest day, with the heavy rain expected to recede tomorrow.
 "There is some inconsistency in tomorrow's forecast in terms of whether it will rain or not. It might rain in south and central Finland tomorrow, but in scattered showers. There will be a definite drop in the temperature over the weekend," he added.
 Also on Tuesday the FMI said that last month was the 11th consecutive September with average temperatures above the long-term mean. The month also includes the second-latest date ever recorded with temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius. That occurred in several areas on 10 September, with the highest reading of 26.2 degrees in Lappeenranta, eastern Finland.


Winter arrived in eastern Finland on Friday morning, with 4-5cm of snow falling in the morning and more on the way.
 "Easternmost Finland may get 10 cm on Friday,” says Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen .
 The first snow was recorded in the morning in the cities of Jyväskylä and Kuopio, where 2 cm had fallen by 9 am.
 The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) defines the first snowfall as at least one centimetre of snow on the ground at 9am at one of its weather stations. Huutonen says that Eastern Finland’s first snow came about a week earlier than usual. Northern Lapland received its  first snow  on Sunday.
 Slippery roads, especially in the east
 The FMI warns of poor road conditions through most of eastern Finland from Friday afternoon through at least midnight due to snow or sleet, with “very bad” conditions in North Karelia.
 Story continues after photo
 Friday morning in Tohmajärvi, North Karelia. Tanja Perkkiö
 "The further west you go, the wetter the snow is. Overnight frost will make road surfaces slippery, so those driving on summer tyres must be careful,” says Huutonen.
 Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia may get 1-5cm of snow, he adds.
 Chilly October weather in store
 Precipitation is expected through Friday evening, but it should be mostly over by Saturday. Conditions will remain cool, though.
 "Cold air is moving in from the north, so all of next week will be chilly. Temperatures in the south will be 5-6 degrees colder than usual for this time of year,” Huutonen says.
 Story continues after photo
 Easternmost Finland awoke to wintry conditions. Tanja Perkkiö
 Overnight readings will drop below freezing throughout the country, ranging from a couple of degrees below zero down south to -10 degrees Celsius in parts of Finnish Lapland.


This week is the last chance to enjoy the autumn foliage, as cold wintry weather are in store next week, says Yle meteorologist  Kerttu Kotakorpi .
 Ushering in the change of season will be a storm this weekend, packing gusty winds that may topple trees and disrupt transport.
 After a relatively mild autumn, temperatures are set to plunge by around 10 degrees Celsius in many areas this weekend.
 That will bring readings around the freezing point in southern Finland, and well below zero in the rest of the country.
 Northern Finland may get 20-30 cm of snow on Saturday.
 Autumn colours near Saana Fell in Kilpisjärvi, Finnish Lapland. Ismo Pekkarinen / AOP
 "Autumn has been beautiful this year, but it will be over soon," says Kotakorpi.
 She recommends that motorists switch to winter tyres by early next week, if temperatures drop as expected.
 The  Finnish Road Safety Council  notes that by law studded winter tyres may be used beginning on 1 November, but may be used earlier if required by road conditions. Winter tyres are required from 1 December until the end of February.
 Potential wind hazard in western Finland
 No significant snow is in the forecast for southern and central Finland just yet, but high winds are forecast for this weekend. At this point, a large low-pressure area is on track to move across Finland on Friday night and early Saturday.
 The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has issued  severe wind warnings  for land areas in Satakunta, Pirkanmaa and parts of Ostrobothnia from Friday evening until Saturday morning.
 It predicts strong southwesterly winds with gusts of more than 20 metres per second, potentially causing "wind damage in numerous areas...a need for significant debris clearance, long-lasting electricity outages and disruptions in telecommunication networks".
 In northern Finland, the FMI warns of poor road conditions due to snow on Friday afternoon and overnight.
 Those considering nautical trips this weekend should be aware there is a warning potentially dangerous gale-force winds with significant wave height exceeding 2.5 meters on most sea areas on Friday and into Saturday.


Residents of Inari in Finnish Lapland awoke on Friday to this winter's coldest thermometer reading so far. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), it was -26 degrees Celsius at Lake Kirakkajärvi — nearly as frigid at Nuorgam in the country's northernmost municipality, Utsjoki.
 October was about three degrees chillier than the long-term average in Northern Finland, says the FMI. The region's average temperature during the month was between -3 and -4 degrees. Meanwhile the country's mildest area was the southwestern archipelago, where the average was above +7, close to the long-term average.
 The warmest reading of the month was on 1 October in Helsinki when the mercury hit 13.4 degrees. The coldest was in the far northwestern village of Enontekiö where it sank to -24.2 on Monday.
 October was also rainier than usual, especially in North Karelia and other eastern areas.
 Slippery roads on Saturday
 More precipitation is in store on Saturday after a dry, partly sunny Friday, says Yle meteorologist  Matti Huutonen .
 It's expected to come down as rain in the southern third of the country as well as the Oulu region, with sleet in between and snow further north.
 Those driving in central and northern areas on Saturday should brace for poor driving conditions due to sleet or snow. Afternoon temperatures will range between +7 in the southwest to -13 in the northwestern arm of Lapland.
 Sunday now looks to be dry and partly clear, a brighter outlook than in previous forecasts. That goes for the early part of next week too, says Huutonen.
 While earlier projection models predicted up to 30cm of snow in southwest Finland by next Tuesday, the latest versions suggest that an expected band of precipitation may just graze the coast or miss the country altogether, he says.


A high pressure zone over Finland will make for sunny, dry and very cold weather as the week begins. According to Yle meteorologist  Kerttu Kotakorpi , the cold spell will last until Wednesday and temperatures will be about five degrees lower than average throughout the country.
 Cold weather has held northern Finland in its grip for some time already this autumn. However conditions during the week ahead will be unusually frigid given the time of year, Kotakorpi noted.
 She added that up residents of the north can also expect between 10 and 40 centimetres of snow into the bargain.
 Daytime highs in southern Finland will hover around zero degrees Celsius, but will fall to between -5 and -10 degrees and will range from -5 to -20 degrees in the north. Wind will increase the chill factor.
 "Based on the current forecast, snow will not quite reach all the way to the south," Kotakorpi said.
 She added that the cold will loosen its grip after Wednesday and that more precipitation is in store as the week closes.


Oulu resident and amateur photographer  Risto Mattila  was in for a bit of a shock when he came across a host of odd-looking "eggs" on a beach during a Sunday stroll on Hailuoto island, northern Ostrobothnia.
 Piled up on the Marjaniemi beach was a 30-metre-wide collection of objects that looked like large eggs. Mattila said he had never seen anything like it during 25 years living in the vicinity of the sea. Other people out and about on Sunday afternoon were also mystified by the egg-shaped ice and snow formations.
 "My wife and I stood there marvelling at the remarkable natural phenomenon. Since I had a camera with me I decided to preserve this unusual sight for posterity," Mattila added.
 A rare phenomenon
 Jouni Vainio , an ice specialist from the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), said that the ice eggs were not a supernatural phenomenon, although they were rare. He noted that the formations require just the right air and water conditions, which have to be near freezing.
 The shallow sandy beach and just the right ebb and flow of the frigid water would be almost enough for the "eggs" to form, he explained. However there would also have to be another factor to allow the ball of snow and ice to form around it.
 That could be a snowflake, a small stone on the beach or even a bit of flotsam in the sea. The water would then freeze around the object, while a suitable wind would ensure continued ice build-up with the back and forth movement of the water.
 "Too much wind would prevent the ball from forming. On the other hand, if it’s calm, [the water] would just freeze on the beach in an even layer," Vainio continued.
 Mattila’s encounter with the ice eggs was serendipitous, because they are usually only discernible for a short time. Regular shoreline conditions such as a high wind can easily cause them to accumulate into a large deposit of ice in which the individual eggs would no longer be visible.


Talks aimed at ending a strike by Finnish postal workers failed to reach a settlement over the weekend.
 As a result, a number of other unions have announced  the start of support action  to help the Finnish Post and Logistics Union PAU press its demands.
 Joining in as of Monday are the Transport Workers’ Union AKT, the Finnish Seafarers´ Union, the Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors JHL and Service Union United PAM. Members of the Finnish Aviation Union IAU began supporting the strike last week, severely delaying airmail deliveries.
 The newsstand tabloid  Ilta-Sanomat reports  that so far the postal strike is causing a delay of several days in the delivery of packages and may cause delays of weeks for the delivery of letters and periodicals. Daily newspaper distribution is not, however, affected.
 Jarmo Ainasoja , Posti's Head of Exception management, told the paper that the company will be able to mitigate the effects of support action by the Transport Workers’ Union by using its network of subcontractors.
 "There is always somebody who wants to work and take part in deliveries. We have a fairly extensive network of partners. A lot depends on how involved they become. That's something that can be better evaluated on Monday," said Ainasoja.
 Ilta-Sanomat warned, however that problems with post moving through port facilities can be expected.
 The paper goes on to provide a detailed day-by-day listing of union actions impacting postal deliveries through the upcoming week.
 Negotiations on a deal to end the Finnish Post and Logistics Union strike are set to resume on Monday afternoon.
 Buy seeds, but don't plant them
 The legal use of cannabis has become a hot topic again, especially after a citizens' initiative calling for its decriminalisation  passed the 50,000 signatures mark and headed to parliament  late last month.
 According to Finland's largest circulation daily, Helsingin Sanomat, the initiative has met with little enthusiasm from lawmakers, with a majority of MPs saying they oppose legalisation, and Prime Minister  Antti Rinne  pledging that his government will not push for passage.
 On Monday  the paper reported  that while cannabis is still not legal, the sale of cannabis seeds and cannabis paraphernalia is.
 The paper spoke with  Juha Vihervaara , the owner of one Helsinki shop, Seeds of Love, which openly imports and sells a wide range of cannabis seeds.
 If planted and properly cared for, these seeds will produce a plant containing the psychoactive cannabinoid THC and CBD, an active ingredient used to treat conditions like pain, insomnia, and anxiety.
 However, these seeds are not sold to be planted. By law, cannabis seeds cannot be sold to produce plants for the purpose of producing banned drugs. Instead, they can be legally sold as collectors' items and for decorative purposes.
 "The only permitted uses for the seeds sold are collection and the preservation of genetic materials. One should not try to get the seeds to sprout, and they are not guaranteed to sprout," according to the Seeds of Love shop's disclaimer.
 Helsingin Sanomat notes that seed collection seems to be a popular hobby. Juha Vihervaara says that his storefront shop sees about 500 customers walk in every week and somewhat fewer in its online shop.
 There are several specialist shops in the country dealing primarily in cannabis seeds and paraphernalia, but seeds can also be found on sale by many more mainstream retailers, as well.
 Electric snow scooter
 From Lapland, where moving around in the snow is a way of life,  Lapin Kansa reports  on plans for the start of serial production of an innovative means of transport — an electric snow scooter which is being touted as the first of its kind in the world.
 The eLyly electric snow scooter. eLyly
 Pasi Kauppinen  of eLyly, the company that has designed the device, told the paper that the official launch of the scooter was planned to take place at the World Cup Levi alpine skiing event this coming weekend, but that launch has been delayed.
 Now Kauppinen says that the target is to get the first electric snow scooters on the market by next spring.
 Lapin Kansa writes that the scooters are not well suited for use in heavy snow, working best on packed snow or soft snow at depths of 10-15cm.
 The first of the scooters are likely to be targeted at commercial operators in the tourism sector. With a projected price tag of 5,000-6,000 euros, they are unlikely to replace granny's traditional kicksled anytime in the near future.
 Mediterranean breezes
 The Helsinki daily  Iltalehti  points out the obvious to anyone who has been outside — the weather in Finland is unusually warm for the time of year.
 FMI meteorologist  Petri Hoppula  explained that while the temperatures are unusual, the mechanics of the phenomenon are not. Warm air has been moving up from the south, across Poland and Belarus into the Baltic region.
 Warm air is flowing up from the eastern Mediterranean, from Greece and Turkey, where by Finnish standards, it is still full summer.
 The weather over the next few days is expected to remain humid, with fog and mist, but little fear of any downpours.


Sunny skies, dry weather, minus five degrees Celsius on the thermometer—and summer tyres on the road. Starting 1 June next year new legislation will allow drivers of private vehicles to use summer tyres during winter, weather permitting.
 Current rules require motorists to switch to winter tyres at the latest from the beginning of December and to use them until the end of February. However starting next June, the use of winter tyres will only be mandatory when conditions require it.
 On the other hand, if wintry road conditions occur outside of the traditional season, drivers will have to swap their cars’ summer tyres for winter versions – and this will apply from November until the end of March.
 No clear guidance on weather
 The legal reform due to take effect next year does not however, specifically describe what kind of weather requires the use of winter tyres. In Germany for example, the law states that winter tyres should be used when roads have ice, slush or black ice.
 In Finland however, legislators have acted on the assumption that motorists are rational enough to know when winter tyres are required. It is an interesting position, given that nowadays many drivers have very little experience of driving in the worst conditions that winter can serve up.
 That is mainly because a majority of road users tend to drive on well-maintained motorways, where they may only encounter the most slippery winter conditions for a few hours every season. However shorter winters could bring a greater risk of aquaplaning on even the best-kept roads, conditions that could last for weeks.
 Similarly, in the spirit of the legal reform introduced by ministry of transport and communications, motorists will not be fined for running afoul of the new law. So far the National Police Board has not even considered what kind of weather can be considered suitable for summer tyres to be used.
 The general idea in police circles is that initially at least, police will issue warnings to drivers using summer threads in challenging road conditions.
 Finland to finally define suitable winter tyres
 The new law will also call on drivers to pay closer attention to the kinds of tyres they use. During winter they will likely be transitioned away from studded tyres to friction tyres. In some quarters, friction tyres are seen as damaging to roads and consequently to state and municipal budgets. Doubts have also arisen over their environmental impact.
 Perhaps surprisingly, Finland has never stipulated what characteristics winter tyres should have. That work is currently under way at the transport and communications ministry and it is due for completion around the same time the new rules come into play.
 Story continues after photo.
 Derrick Frilund / Yle
 It seems likely that in Finland, motorists will in future be called upon to use tyres with a three-peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol, which indicates that they meet the performance criteria in snow testing for use in severe snow conditions.
 Finnish legislation will still have to be harmonised with European regulations. In addition, foreign motorists cannot be excluded from driving on Finnish roads due to unreasonable winter tyre requirements.


Heavy, wet snow knocked out electricity to thousands of customers in inland parts of southwest Finland on Wednesday afternoon.
 The Finnish Energy industry group (ET) said that more than 17,000 customers had lost power in the Häme region by around 3pm. The number was rising quickly.
 The storm moved in from the southwest on Wednesday morning, bringing gusty winds and precipitation. Due to mild temperatures, that fell as rain along the coast.
 The powerful low pressure system moved eastward across southern and central Finland during the day.
 The number of households without electricity was expected to grow by evening, when winds are set to strengthen.
 Yle meteorologist  Henri Nyman  predicted that as many as 20,000 customers could face blackouts.


A storm set to hit central parts of the country on Wednesday could bring up to 20 cms of snow north of Lappeenranta and Hämeenlinna and to the south of Kuopio.
 A low-pressure zone will move east across southern Finland from the southwest, the weather forecast said.
 "Low pressure will first bring rain, but it will get snowier at night. There will be dense snowfall during the afternoon and heavy snow could accumulate on trees," Yle meteorologist  Anne Borgström  predicted.
 Coastal areas in the southwest as well as southern Finland will see rainfall until Wednesday evening when precipitation will turn into sleet. There is also a possibility of snow on Thursday night.
 "The amount of snow in the south could be very low — there are chances of a very light snowfall."
 The forecast predicts snow in Northern Karelia up until Thursday night but the rain will recede by morning.
 Northern Ostrobothnia and Lapland will be spared from the storm and will remain cloudy with light rain showers on Wednesday.
 South and southwestern sea areas are likely to experience stormy winds on Wednesday afternoon and evening, with gusts reaching up to 24 metres per second.
 'Black Christmas' in southern Finland
 As the storm drifts eastward, Thursday will see a change in weather conditions across the country.
 "Cool, even sunny and a bit colder — Thursday will be what we want this time of year," Borgström said.
 However, things will take a gloomier turn before Christmas in southern Finland.
 "As early as Friday, some rain from the west will arrive again and the whole weekend will be gloomy. The beginning of the week doesn't look much better either," Borgström added.


Heavy, wet snow knocked out electricity to thousands of customers in inland parts of southern and central Finland on Wednesday afternoon.
 The Finnish Energy industry group (ET) said that more than 51,000 customers had lost power across south-central and eastern Finland around 6:15pm, as well as a few in Kittilä, Finnish Lapland, and in Sipoo on the south coast. The vast majority of those affected were Elenia customers.
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 Parts of Mannerheimintie, one of Helsinki's main roads, were flooded on Wednesday morning. Teemu Salonen / Lehtikuva
 The storm moved in from the southwest on Wednesday morning, bringing gusty winds and precipitation. Due to mild temperatures, that fell as rain along the coast.
 The powerful low pressure system moved eastward across southern and central Finland during the day.
 The number of households without electricity was expected to grow by evening, when winds are set to strengthen.
 Story continues after photo
 Snow in Hämeenlinna. Akseli Ahola / Yle
 Ship cancellations and delays
 The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has posted a storm warning for the Gulf of Finland, where winds are expected to blow at 23 metres per second from the afternoon on, posing danger to marine traffic. Very rough waves are also predicted, with significant wave height of more than four metres.
 Eckerö Line cancelled at least two ship departures. Viking Line and Tallink Silja said they planned to sail as usual, but warned passengers of possible delays.
 Across south-central and eastern Finland, the FMI warns of very poor road conditions due to the snowstorm.
 The precipitation and wind are expected to move off toward Russia by Wednesday night.


Many Lapland residents will spend this Christmas enjoying record snow cover, according to data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute, FMI.
 The institute said that snow hit record depths in areas such as Pokka in Kittilä, Tähtelä in Sodankylä and Saariselkä in Inari.
 In Pokka, powder is nearly 80 centimetres deep, while in Tähtelä and Saariselkä snow cover is around 70 centimetres. Except for coastal areas, most of the north has been blanketed by at least 50 centimetres of snow.
 FMI said that this Christmas will be slightly warmer than usual in Lapland, with the mercury hovering around zero degrees Celsius in southern Lapland and a few degrees below freezing further north.
 Motorists should look out for poor driving conditions on Monday in the far north due to snow and freezing rain.
 However the snowfall will ease during the evening and overnight. Christmas Eve will be cloudy with more snow likely in some areas.
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Cloudy skies are gradually clearing across Finland over the next few days, leading to a slight drop in temperatures, according to Yle's weather service.
 Mostly clear weather is in store on Friday, with chilly northerly winds sweeping through the country.
 On Saturday, southern areas will see sunny skies as the mercury dips below zero nationwide. A new snow front will meanwhile move in from the west on Saturday, bringing more snow and milder temperatures to Lapland.
 Lapland has seen a  record amount of snow cover  this Christmas, with powder on the ground measuring up to a metre deep in some parts of Finland's northernmost region.