Meteorologist Niko Tollman of the Finnish Meteorology Institute confirms that counting up the number of stormy days this past month made January one of the windiest first months of the year over sea areas since 1994.
Ice cover over Finland's sea areas is very low. Experts warn that the ice is now very thin over the sea, and with spring slowly arriving, the situation is not likely to improve.
Powder on the ground is nearly one meter deep in some parts of Finland's northernmost region.
Gusty winds and precipitation began pounding Finland from the southwest on Wednesday morning.
Hundreds of ice balls could be seen floating on the beach at Ohtakari island in Finland’s Bay of Bothnia.
Finland is emerging from a deep freeze, giving way to milder temperatures and more snow. On Saturday three people in Helsinki fell through the ice at two different locations within the same 15-minute period.
Sixty-three endangered Saimaa ringed seal pups were found during the early spring count carried out by forestry workers and volunteers.
Ice cover over Finlands sea areas is very low. Experts warn that the ice is now very thin over sea, and with spring slowly arriving, the situation is not likely to improve.
Finland's ski centres are coping with shorter, milder winters by making and storing snow – costly short-term solutions that may worsen the problem in the longer term.
Sea ice around Helsinki becomes more precarious as spring draws near.
The oval ice formations created by wave action were piled up on a Hailuoto beach.
Strong winds have created a picturesque wall of ice on the shore of Lake Pyhäjärv. "This often happens at this time of year on the shores of larger lakes and on the sea shore," Huutonen said, adding that there were gale force winds in the area over the weekend.
The conditions for the creation of an ice wall on the lake occur about once a decade, when the ice is thick enough and there are large variations in the daily temperatures. As the ice melts, it creates a chasm, but when it freezes again and expands, it forces the edge of the chasm upwards, creating the 'wall' effect.
Sipilä said that during his 40 years working for state-owned parks and wildlife management agency Metsähallitus, he has never seen such poor ice conditions in January.
Scientists measured 16 centimeters of snow in Kilpisjärvi on Thursday, which is far less than the average depth of 39 centimeters for this time of year, according to Siiskonen. Less of the white stuff than usual, creating unusual opportunities for long-distance skating enthusiasts.
Forecasts indicate that ice cover will thin by dozens of centimetres all the way up to Lapland.
The state rail company VR has said that it will substitute buses on some of the cancelled rail trips.
The skiing season ended in Northern Lapland in mid-May, but the weather there is still so cold and snowfall so frequent that the Saariselkä resort will temporarily reopen its slopes, which are currently up to a metre deep in snow.
Finnish Meteorological Institute researchers said the reduction in snow cover was caused by global climate change and is likely to accelerate.
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