Cold and colder – Enontekiö sees winter’s record low of -44.3 Celsius

It is cold all across Finland, but especially in the far northwest of Finnish Lapland where a temperature of -44.3 degrees Celsius was recorded just after 2 am Friday at Enontekiö.

The Finnish Meteological Institute noted Thursday that temperatures below -42C have been recorded only three times this century.

“We officially passed the -40 degree mark on Wednesday just before midnight,” FMI meteorologist Nina Karusto told Yle on Thursday morning.

At the weekend, however, temperatures may be considerably milder.

Winds are expected to weaken as early as on Friday and according to Karusto, the weather will get milder even in Lapland, where readings of just around the freezing point are forecast for early next week.

Pricey electricity

As long as the current unusually cold weather continues, electricity prices will remain high.

On Thursday, the spot price of electricity was twice as high as on Wednesday. Between 8am and 9am on Thursday morning, the price jumped to 47 cents per kilowatt hour.

The electricity spot price is projected to hit a record high of €2.35 per kWh on Friday.

Due to the severe cold, electricity consumption has been at a record high for the past few days.

The electricity grid operator Fingrid has assured the public that sufficient supplies of electricity are available, but has also urged consumers to try to reduce their electricity use, especially in the mornings and afternoons, to avoid unnecessary strain on the electricity grid.

This item was updated 5.1.2024 to report a new low temperature reading by the Finnish Meteorological Institute..

Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.