Heavy snowfall and high winds delay trains and planes in Finland

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Heavy snowfall and high winds over the weekend hampered traffic until Monday morning. No serious accidents or injuries were reported, but traffic was halted on roads and railways as well as at some airports.
     
Delays occurred even in long-distance rail passenger traffic, particularly in the Savo and Karelia region. For example, the night train from Oulu to Helsinki was almost one and a half hours late.
      According to VR (Finnish Railways), snowfall and dampness that was caused by rising temperatures led to electric failures even in commuter trains in the Helsinki region on Monday morning. A dozen cars were taken out of service, and hence the trains were shorter than normally, and some scheduled departures had to be taken out.
     
On Sunday night, a turboprop ATR 72 aircraft that was on its way to Kuopio was forced to return to Helsinki as it could not land in the blizzard. Later the same night, however, an Airbus 319 was able to land in Kuopio.
      On Monday morning, some domestic flights were delayed at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, but in the afternoon, when the weather cleared up, air traffic returned to normal.
     
The poor weather jammed the roads in Eastern Finland, and even in the province of Uusimaa, on Monday morning. According to Finland’s Mobile Police, about 50 minor accidents occurred in the province of Southern Finland. Furthermore, several cars that had slid off the road in various parts of Finland were reported.
      In the Northern Karelia region, even heavy lorry traffic encountered difficulties. Moreover, a truck overturned on the Kehä I ring road in Espoo.
     
Abundant snow that fell off a roof stunned a woman in the centre of Helsinki. Police were repeatedly notified of falling snow, but no other accidents were reported. Snow falling from roofs is a problem during rapid thaw conditions, and can pose a serious danger to life and limb.
      The precipitation moved from the northwest to the southeast, and snowfall extended as far east as the line Kouvola - Mikkeli - Joensuu still on Monday morning. However, in the course of the day, it stopped snowing. The high winds whipped up the snow, and the tallest snowdrifts were reported to be over half a metre, with the average snowfall at about 20 cm.
     
Traffic at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport was further disrupted late in the evening, when a light plane crashed at the end of the runway almost immediately after take-off. All flights were cancelled and the airport was shut down for half an hour until the plane was found and the pilot was taken to hospital. The cause of the crash is being investigated by the Accident Investigation Board, Finland.
      According to the weather forecast from the Finnish Meteorological Institute for the next few days, the whole country will experience temperatures of -5 to -10°C and occasional light snowfalls. Only light winds are expected. Sunny spells are predicted for some parts of the country.


Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute
  VR (Finnish Railways) Passenger Service
  Accident Investigation Board

Helsingin Sanomat