Greater Helsinki area turns white overnight

A modest fall of snow covered the southern part of Finland on Wednesday night, bringing a wintry look to the early November landscape.
      The ground remained black only in some coastal areas, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
      The ground was white in such a wide area for the first time in the current autumn. The thin snow layer managed to inspire even the meteorologist on duty Eveliina Tuovinen:”I got a Christmassy feeling right away”, she said.
     
The snowfall began in the Greater Helsinki area after 7.00 p.m. on Wednesday. The southeasterly belt of precipitation moved towards Western Finland during the evening, with snow expected to fall there overnight, Tuovinen predicted.
      However, no permanent snow layer was promised by the meteorologist on duty. The wet ground and the temperature of around zero are likely to melt away the snow soon, she said.
     
According to a definition made by the Meteorological Institute, the first snowfall has come down when the snow cover is at least one centimetre in the morning.
      The Finnish Road Administration reports that because of the snow and sleet, the road conditions are slippery in many places in Southern Finland, while most parts of the country are enjoying normal winter conditions.
     
In the Greater Helsinki area, the roads are wet and icy in patches.
      The main roads have been salted.
      The snowfall hampered traffic particularly in the southern and southwestern parts of the country especially in the evening and during the night. According to the police, more than 20 vehicles making an unscheduled excursion off the road were recorded in the province of Uusimaa.
      The Helsinki police were not notified of any accidents during the night or in the early morning, but on Porvoo’s Nesteentie a tanker had turned on its side.
      Snow is predicted to continue to fall until the afternoon.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Eastern Lapland receives autumn´s first snowfall (29.9.2009)
  Kuusamo is most southerly Finnish location with snow on the ground (21.10.2008)

Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute
  Finnish Road Administration: Travel and traffic information