Storm causes problems for rail transport

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Rail services were cut off on Wednesday between Turku and Tampere, and between Kajaani and Oulu. There were also problems in the southeast.
      The storm which swept over Finland on Tuesday night and Wednesday blew trees down on electric lines, causing problems for the railways, and leaving many households in Southern and Western Finland temporarily without electricity.
      The track between Tampere and Turku was cut off from the morning until half past eight in the evening because of an electric failure in Humppila. The storm had blown a tree down over an electric line. Buses were called in to replace the missing trains.
      The track between Kajaani and Oulu was out of commission from five in the morning until nine in the evening.
     
Changing weather brought some long-awaited snow to Southern Finland on Wednesday night and Thursday morning.
      Traffic problems were reported in the south of Finland. Police reported 18 accidents, including one fatality in the Uusimaa area. Skies began clearing up at about ten in the morning.
      Temperatures are expected to drop on Thursday evening, leading to possible icy roads in the south of Finland.
     
Wednesday's storm caused power cuts affecting up to 16,000 households in the west and southwest, and in West Uusimaa, which are served by the power company Fortum.
      High winds and falling trees caused damage to a few residential buildings in Helsinki.
     
The sea level rose by about one metre, but turned downward again on Wednesday before noon. In Helsinki, some seaside walking paths were submerged.
      The water level rose to 99 centimetres above average, which is ten centimetres short of the emergency level.
      The crew on the marine research vessel Aranda, which started a winter study voyage, were optimistic that the storm in the ice-free Gulf of Finland might help improve the oxygen situation in deeper parts of the Gulf. Results of samples to be taken will come in just over two weeks.
     
Temperature records for January were set on Tuesday night. At Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, the temperature reached 8.2° Celsius. The previous record for January, 7.6°C, was set in January 1973. The average high temperature at this time of the year in the south of Finland is between zero and -2°C.
      Usually the winter in the south of Finland is at its coldest in early February.
     
A group of surfers appeared on the beach in Emäsalo in Porvoo to take advantage of the waves stirred up by the storm.
      Surfing is possible on the south coast of Finland only on a few days of the year, and in few places.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Strong storm causes power failures in southern Finland (10.1.2007)

Helsingin Sanomat