Jogger in Helsinki on a sunny, freezing day, 12 December 2025. Photo: Emmi Korhonen / Lehtikuva
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The sun returned to Helsinki on Friday for the first extended period in December, breaking a stretch of heavy cloud that had allowed only 20 minutes of sunshine in the Finnish capital before that day.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) reported that sunlight was visible for several hours, with sunrise shortly after 9 a.m. and sunset after 3 p.m. On average, Helsinki receives more sunshine in December than this year has offered so far.
The cold and clear conditions will continue into the weekend, though skies will gradually cloud over from the west. Western areas may see light snow showers on Saturday, while eastern Finland remains mostly clear.
Saturday’s temperatures are forecast to stay below zero nationwide.
By Sunday, snowfall will increase again. FMI expects a new system from the west to bring 3 to 10 centimetres of snow, mostly in western regions. Eastern areas and Lapland will see less.
FMI meteorologist Jari Tuovinen said early next week will begin with widespread new snow cover. In western Finland, some areas may receive up to 15 centimetres.
Temperatures will rise early next week. By Monday, parts of the southwest may see over +5 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday, above-zero temperatures are expected across southern and central areas, turning snowfall into rain. Eastern and northern Finland will remain colder, with Lapland staying below freezing.
As temperatures climb, snow cover in the south and central regions may begin to melt, even as more precipitation arrives from the Atlantic.
The long-range forecast released on 10 December by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) suggests that the warm phase will not last. A shift towards colder conditions is possible around the New Year and into early January.
Joonas Koskela, meteorologist at Foreca, wrote that the previously predicted warm anomaly is expected to disappear after Christmas.
For the Christmas week starting 22 December, the forecast suggests slightly warmer than usual conditions, but a potential shift towards drier weather.
By the week of 29 December, high pressure could strengthen over northern Europe. This would allow colder air masses to reach Finland. Koskela said this might result in fewer showers, with average or below-average precipitation levels.
The week beginning 5 January is forecast to be near normal in both temperature and precipitation, according to the latest ECMWF data.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
