Northern Lapland receives autumn's first sprinkling of snow

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Northern Lapland has enjoyed this autumn's first fall of snow. The first snowflakes appeared in the early hours of Wednesday morning, and the fall of snow continued on and off throughout the day.
      The most snow was received in the far northern municipalities of Enontekiö, Kittilä, Inari, and Utsjoki, and partly the snow cover remained on the ground. Things were fairly local, and for instance the temperature on Wednesday in the provincial capital Rovaniemi was 13 degrees Celsius higher than in Inari.
     
According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the first snow came early this year. The long-term average for the first sound snow cover in the central and northern parts of Lapland is between October 3 and 14. The snow cover is considered sound when its thickness on the ground is at least one centimetre when measured in the morning.
      Sometimes the very north of Lapland may receive snow even in August, but then it quickly melts away.
      While the ground is slowly turning white in the far north, conditions in the south of the country are positively balmy for mid-September. The Finnish Meteorological Institute forecasts daytime temperatures up to 20° Celsius through the weekend, with plenty of sunshine to go round. More unsettled weather is promised for central and northern districts.


Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute

Helsingin Sanomat