4 Seasons

Many foreigners think of Finland particularly as a land of winter, snow and a long dark season which is transformed into a land of endless daylight summer time. Someone who is not used to the light nights will find it difficult to sleep.

The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. The mean temperature in Finland is several degrees (as much as 10°C in winter) higher than that of other areas in these latitudes, e.g. Siberia and south Greenland. The temperature is raised by the Baltic Sea, inland waters and, above all, by airflows from the Atlantic, which are warmed by the Gulf Stream.

When westerly winds prevail, the weather is warm and clear in most of the country. Despite the moderating effect of the ocean, the Asian continental climate also extends to Finland at times, manifesting itself as severe cold in winter and extreme heat in summer. Since Finland is located in the zone of prevailing westerlies where tropical and polar air masses meet, weather types can change quite rapidly, especially winter time. The systems known to affect Finnish weather are the low-pressure system usually found near Iceland, and the high-pressure systems in Siberia and the Azores. The position and strength of these systems vary, and any one of them can dominate the weather for a considerable time. (Finnish Meteorological Institute, 2001). This results into 4 seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn.