Yle meteorologist Toni Hellinen predicts a dramatic change in the weather in northern Finland this week. On Tuesday, clouds and showers are moving into Finnish Lapland from the west.
"On Tuesday night the situation will worsen as far as precipitation," he says. "Wednesday will be a very wet day with continuous rain through most of Lapland, with lots of water collecting. The wind will also pick up.
On Wednesday evening and night, some of the precipitation may come down as snow in Central and Northern Lapland and later at night in Southern Lapland as well. This area of precipitation looks so powerful that several centimetres of snow may collect. We'll have to see whether the snowploughs will have to be put to work. At the same time there will be wind gusts that may reach dangerously high levels in Lapland."
Central Lapland to bear the brunt
The heaviest snow accumulations and the strongest wind gusts will be in Central Lapland, says Hellinen. "Northern Lapland could also get the strongest winds on Wednesday. These squalls may be up to 20 metres a second over land areas."
Indeed, wind blasts may be dangerously strong on northern sea and land areas on Wednesday and Thursday.
Temperatures in Finnish Lapland will mostly stay below 5 degrees Celsius over the next few days. From Friday through Sunday the mercury will rise slightly but still remain below 10.
The wind should begin to let up on Friday as the low pressure area fades.
"Over the weekend the situation should return to normal as far as the winds, but the weather will still be overcast, chilly and unstable on Saturday and Sunday. Friday looks to be the driest day."
In the south, Wednesday through Friday should be cool but mostly dry. Central Finland will get some showers with temperatures in the single digits.
FMI warns of wind, heavy downpours and forest fires
Meanwhile the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has issued an array of warnings. They include strong winds on all maritime areas, with near-gale force winds of up to 16 metres per second on the Northern Bay of Bothnia, near Finnish Lapland, as well as strong gusts in many land areas. Winds may increase to storm strength on the Bay of Bothnia on Wednesday and Thursday.
There is also a heavy rain warning in Southern and Central Lapland, with accumulations of more than 50 mm in 24 hours. In the meantime, a forest fire alert remains in effect in most of Western Finland and Western Lapland.