Gale-force winds to continue in Finland on Monday

People left stranded on islands on Sunday

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Gale-force winds are to rage in Finland even on Monday. The strongest storms are to be expected in southern and central parts of the country.
     
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has issued a strong wind advisory for the Gulf of Finland, the Sea of Åland, the Archipelago Sea, the Bothnian Sea, and the Bay of Bothnia. In addition, the eastern part of the Northern Baltic has been warned of severe gales.
      Strong winds are once again disrupting the service of high-speed passenger ferries running between Helsinki and Tallinn. For example Linda Line’s first departure for today and that for tomorrow were cancelled.
      According to the FMI, the Greater Helsinki area is predicted to experience moderate or strong winds and rain on Monday. Tuesday could be partly sunny, while Wednesday again looks rainy and windy.
      Motorists are being warned of hazardous road conditions in Southern Lapland and Northern Ostrobothnia because of snow or sleet.
     
The autumn storms caused damage across Finland on the night between Saturday and Sunday.
      According to the energy supplier Vattenfall, as many as more than a thousand households were left without electricity in the Tavastia and Pirkanmaa region, but the company managed to repair most power outages by Sunday afternoon.
      In the Greater Helsinki area the strong winds felled trees and tore off roofing sheets.
     
In the coastal areas of the Gulf of Finland, some boats were sunk in the sea during the storm, leaving many people stranded on islands.
      The Gulf of Finland Coast Guard rescued five people off Porkkala, a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland located in Kirkkonummi, after their boat had been filled with water and capsized off the coast of an island. Three adults and three children had remained stuck on the island.
      In addition, several boats that had broken loose from their moorings during the storm were reported.
     
At the same time, heavy rains disrupted traffic in various parts of the Province of Uusimaa.
      Water was hampering traffic on Ring Road I at the junction of Helsinki’s Pakilantie, and one lane had to be closed because of a gigantic puddle.
      In the city of Kerava, flooding led to the closing off of a subway below the railway line.
      The Finnish Road Administration estimated that the water in the subway was as deep as two metres.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Eastern Lapland receives autumn´s first snowfall (29.9.2009)

Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI)
  Finnish Road Administration

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