Strong winter storm ravages Southern and Central Finland

Wind slows down shipping and hampers aviation, dozens of accidents on roads

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A winter storm ravaged Southern and Central Finland on Sunday. Falling trees and metal roofing blowing away kept rescue workers busy. Road conditions were also very difficult because of the heavy snowfall.
      In Kirkkonummi, one person was seriously injured early on Sunday evening in a head-on collision on the Helsinki-Hanko highway.
      On the Helsinki-Tampere motorway, a car overturned in Riihimäki, and came to a rest in the central reservation. The accident took place at half past six in the evening. A mother, her two children, and a pet all survived with minor injuries.
      In Karjaa, in the village of Rejböle, three people were injured on Highway 51 when a car coming from Helsinki collided with people who were pushing another car which had slid off the highway into a ditch.
      About 50 other collisions, or accidents involving cars sliding off the road, were reported in Southern Finland in the course of Sunday.
     
The storm also caused a few changes in shipping schedules. For instance, the passenger vessel Romantica, arriving from Tallinn, and the cargo ship Finn Birch both had to request help from a tugboat to get into Helsinki Harbour.
      The Silja Opera, another passenger vessel arriving from Tallinn, went to the Katajanokka ship terminal, instead of the Olympic Terminal on the other side of the main South Harbour basin. The measure was taken to avoid coming too close to a ship that was already in port.
     
The heavy winds and driving snow also affected air traffic. At Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport, only one runway out of three was in use because of the gusty cross-winds. The third runway also had to be closed at one point for snow removal as ploughs could not keep up with the blizzard conditions.
      Some planes en route to Helsinki had to be diverted to Tampere.
     
Most trains were on time on Sunday.
      There were a few delays reported, but according to a statement by the state-owned railway company VR, they could not be ascribed to the weather.
      In one location at sea, strong gale wind-speeds of 18 - 21 metres a second were recorded.
      According to the Finnish Meteorological Society's meteorologist-on-duty, Anja Häkkinen, the wind abated a good deal from the evening. The weather became stormy in the southwestern region, but high winds and snowfall also extended to Southern and Central Finland. Winds are expected to continue to be fairly strong on Monday.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Heavy snow loads burden rooftops in Eastern and Northern Finland (9.2.2005)
  Snow and icicles threaten to drop on pedestrians from roofs in Helsinki (3.2.2005)

Links:
  Finnish Meteorological Institute

Helsingin Sanomat