Snow in Kiruna, Sweden
© Ulrica Strålind/Instagram @ulricastralindSnow in Kiruna on June 1st.

June 1st means summer, right? Oh wait - this is Sweden after all. Bring on the snow and hail! Last month in Sweden was a month of extreme weather.

The far northern parts of Norrland saw record-low temperatures, the lowest since 1968 according to preliminary figures from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI).

So surely, summer should be here by now? Well, think again - this is Sweden, after all. On June 1st, snow was falling over the small village of Kåbdalis in the northern county of Norrbotten.

"June 1st! From clear blue sky (and freezing cold) to snow storm in one minute. Yes, I do like snow. And I like winter. But maybe not in June," Kåbdalis resident Marie Nygårds wrote on Instagram.

In the arctic mining town of Kiruna, also in the Norrbotten county, residents got to experience a mix of weathers: "Hail, snow, thunder, +2 in Kiruna," Ulrica Strålind wrote on Instagram.

Other Swedish weather extremes in May:
  • Tarfala in the northern Lapland mountains set the record on May 11th with -16.6 degrees Celsius. On the same day, Visby on the Baltic island of Gotland had -7.8 degrees.
  • On May 2nd, Katterjåkk in the far north of Lapland had a snow depth of 205 centimetres, which was a seasonal high.
  • Meanwhile, in the southern parts of the country, temperatures took a turn for more summery levels at the end of the month, with a seasonal high of 30.1 degrees Celsius in Oskarshamn in the south-west on May 28th.