Snow in Finland
A storm with high winds which swept across western and northern Finland Wednesday night and during the early hours of Thursday downed trees and cut power supplies to up to 14,000 households. Parts of Finnish Lapland have also seen a "summery" eight centimetres of snow.

Highs winds are expected to die down as evening approaches as the low pressure area responsible for the stormy weather moves eastward.

Residents of northern areas also awoke Thursday to some rare white June landscapes. Snowfall was seen especially on the fells of Lapland and in the Saariselkä region which recorded as much as eight centimetres in some localities.

A Thursday morning scene in Rovaniemi.
© Sauli Antikainen / YleA Thursday morning scene in Rovaniemi.

Cars in Rovaniemi got more than a dusting of snow overnight.
© Bikka Puoskari / Yle Cars in Rovaniemi got more than a dusting of snow overnight.
High winds

Western coastal areas in particular were hit by high winds overnight, with a steady wind speed of 24m/s measured at Pietarsaari. Gusts topped 30 m/s in some areas.

The hardest hit regions were the western coastal areas of Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia where emergency crews responded to over 140 calls during the night and early morning, mostly felled trees and other wind damage.

At one point overnight up to 14,000 household suffered power outages. By mid-morning, several thousand, mainly in western coastal areas, were still without electricity.