Powerful thunderstorm hits Helsinki area on Wednesday morning

20,000 left without power in Espoo

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An exceptionally powerful thunderstorm has caused electrical blackouts in different parts of Uusimaa in Southern Finland on Wednesday morning.
      At one point, about 18,000 households in the east of Helsinki and 20,000 homes in the southeast of Espoo were without electricity.
      Radio broadcasts of the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE were off the air for a time in Uusimaa.
      One person was struck by lightning in the Veikkola district of Kirkkonummi. The victim was taken to hospital in Helsinki.
     
Traffic lights stopped working at 23 intersections in the Finnish capital, and an electrical fault forced some of Helsinki's trams to take alternate routes. Mobile phone masts were also affected, hampering cellphone coverage in the region.
      Lightning also caused emergency civil defence warning sirens to go off in the centre of Helsinki and in Pitäjänmäki. In Espoo, rescue services have received a large number of calls, many of which were automatic alarms which resulting from lightning, as well as calls for flooding assistance.
     
The thunderstorm began at about 10:30 in the morning. The Finnish Meteorological Institute says that it was able to predict the onset of the storm only about two hours in advance.
      Lightning bolts struck at a rate of about 7,000 times an hour.
      The Meteorological Institute urged people to stay inside and to disconnect electric appliances. Further rain is promised for the remainder of the day.


See also:
  Video clip: Thunder behind the railway station in Helsinki.
  Video: Lightning over central Helsinki

Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute: Rainfall
  Finnish Meteorological Institute: Forecast for Helsinki

Helsingin Sanomat