Category: Weather Events

Inventing Your Own Seasons

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by Angel Alma

Finnish humans like to repeat the mantra about how lovely it is to have four proper seasons. You know the rhyme: Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall…

But there are more, namely “mid-seasons”. Summer-Fall, Spring-Winter, and so on. Also, crossings between seasons aren’t as clear as they used to be.

Mum loves the Japanese idea of 24 or even 72 microseasons. Perhaps the best known is Hanami, the season to watch cherry blossoms. The Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat even used this idea in their monthly magazine. They published a calendar on this theme together with ProAgria Finland.

Mum has invented microseasons on her own. Let’s see what they are like in the springtime.

We have just survived the sandstorm season, phew. When the snow melted, the air was full of dust, which strong winds blew all over. During the winter, they gritted the streets and pavements multiple times, and maintenance tractors and street sweeping vehicles spent a long time washing it all away.

Sandstorm dust is bad for lungs and irritates eyes. During the worst time, Mum checked the air quality in our town from her phone before going out. The Finnish Meteorological Institute collected the measurements. Rush hours were awful, of course, but other times too, depending on the wind direction.

And the snow didn’t leave us at once. It came back twice and was rather thick, too. In late April Mum saw that several centimeters of snow had covered the backyard during the night. The sun was already warm enough to melt it by the afternoon. That’s another microseason: warming sun.

The list goes on: the day you can wear trainers and not the heavy winter boots with spikes. You can enjoy coffee on the balcony or ice cream on a terrace when it’s warm enough. When you need to close the bedroom curtains to sleep. Rainbows appear on the kitchen wall when sunlight strikes the glass ball positioned on the shelf.

Microseasons also reveal what has been secretly happening during the winter. They appear when they are ready: the first daffodil, butterfly, bumblebee, spider. Those tiny birch leaves which we call “ears of a mouse”.

Of course, Mum thinks the most exciting springtime microseason is when migratory birds return. Maybe we’ll tell more about it in the next blog.

Weather Article 2

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Northern Blocking in the UK

Northern blocking is one of the most influential drivers of UK weather. High pressure building interrupts the jet stream’s usual westward flow in the high latitudes of Greenland, Iceland, or Scandinavia. This “block” forces weather systems to divert around it, often locking the UK into a particular pattern for days or even weeks.

Although blocking can occur at any time of year, its effects in winter and spring are dramatically different.

For snow lovers like mummy, northern blocking is a key hope for winter months in the UK and to be in the correct position to bring in winds and snow. 

Northerly flows bring snow showers to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the eastern coasts.

Easterly flows can produce widespread snow, especially when North Sea convection is strong. People know this weather phenomenon as the Beast from the East.

How winter blocking forms

In winter, the jet stream is stronger and more active. When a northern block forms, it forces the jet to buckle southwards, often sending it through Spain or the Mediterranean. This opens the door for Arctic or continental air to spill into the UK.

The most common winter blocking positions are:

*Greenland High (Greenland block) drives cold north‑westerlies or northerlies into the UK.
*The Scandinavian High (Scandi block) pulls in cold easterlies from Siberia and western Russia.
*Energy demand spikes. Prolonged cold spells increase heating demand and can strain infrastructure.

Why winter blocking is so impactful

Cold air masses are dense and persistent. Once they settle over the UK, they can be very difficult to shift without a major change in the jet stream. That’s why winter blocking often leads to memorable cold spells—think 2010 or the “Beast from the East” in 2018.

Northern Blocking in Spring:

Spring is a transitional season, and blocking behaves differently because the atmosphere is warming, the jet stream weakens, and the contrast between polar and tropical air reduces.

How spring blocking forms

Spring blocks often develop over:

*Greenland
*Iceland
*Scandinavia
*The North Atlantic

But the key difference is that the air masses involved are no longer cold. Instead, the block’s position determines whether the UK gets warmth, chill, or dry settled weather.

It can bring cold, grey days, though, and chilly spring nights. Can also mean a lot of dry weather, which is not welcome in spring for nature, wildlife, and farmers.

The same blocking pattern that brings snow in February might bring sunshine and warmth in May. The key is the temperature of the source air and the strength of the sun. By late spring, even an easterly flow can feel pleasant rather than bitter.

Dancing in the Dark

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Guest Post–Angel Alma

Friday the 16th of January was a special day in Lapland. For the first time in roughly six weeks, dawn broke. It peeked above the horizon at 12:02 p.m. and disappeared at 12:43 p.m. This happened in Utsjoki, in the northernmost part of Finland.

Winter nights are long in other parts of our country too. It’s not totally dark all the time, as the polar night season, which we call “kaamos,” is also bluish and in the south even light—during the few daylight hours.

This remarkable season offers moonlight, stars on clear nights, and the captivating auroras. Aurora Borealis, the northern lights, gives a display worth watching.

People in ancient times had various explanations for the magical glowing green, blue, yellow, and red lights which filled the sky, dancing, waving, and flickering.

Many folklore stories connect auroras with blood or dead human souls. People also saw them as signs of something big happening. In Finland they are called “Revontulet”, “repo” being an old name for a fox. “Tulet” means fires. So Firefoxes were running through the sky, swishing their tails, red sides touching trees and snow.

Scientists have been interested in auroras since early days, trying to explain their origin. Nowadays we know solar winds interacting with Earth’s magnetosphere cause them. Scientists still eagerly study them, and more secrets remain to be discovered.

No wonder auroras are one of the most admired tourist attractions in Lapland. Finland itself provides excellent observation locations, due to its northern location. It’s also more or less inhabited even in the remote areas. You can see auroras even in April, before it becomes too light.

Mun saw her first Auroras in Helsinki in the 1990s on New Year’s Eve. She went outside with friends during a party at midnight to wish each other a Happy New Year. Green lights were waving up in the sky, like silent fireworks.

For hunting Auroras, you have modern equipment to help. Just check one of the several Aurora alert apps on the phone or a meteorological site. Choose a wide, open place facing north, without too many city lights. Mum used to drive to the nearest fields, but lakesides are also good for spotting.

Aurora hunting is not always a success. Mum drove toward country regions for approximately thirty minutes during the nighttime, solely to observe stellar displays against the dark heavens. Driving back and going to sleep.

Sometimes Mum can see them behind the house, even from her bedroom window. If it’s too cold or too late, she stays in bed dreaming of firefoxes running over the dark winter sky, swishing their tails.

You can find more information about Auroras in Finland, for instance, on these internet sites:
Ursa Astronomical Association, Finnish Meteorological Institute, visitrovaniemi.fi and visitfinland.com 

Weather Article 1

Weather article 1 Picture1
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#Weathercat:

My mummy and I both love the weather. She maintained a weather diary using paper for many years during her youth; now, our garden features a weather station we’ve had for quite some time. She finds it so interesting, exciting, and scary.

The UK’s weather feels the impact of its island status plus its geographical position. We are Atlantic driven but depending on the weather pattern setup and position of the jet stream, we can bring in weather from other directions.

Jet steam:

The jet stream is a high-altitude river of wind (5-7 miles up) that steers UK weather, blowing west-to-east, with its position dictating whether the UK gets mild, wet Atlantic weather (when it’s south of the UK) or colder, drier spells (when it’s further north). A fast, straight jet stream brings unsettled, stormy conditions by pulling low-pressure systems towards the UK, while a weaker, buckled jet stream can lead to blocked high-pressure systems, causing longer periods of stable, dry, or even cold weather, depending on the air masses involved. 

When we have a southerly wind in the summer, we have experienced dust storms up from the Sahara. A few years ago, when working in London, the entire city seemed to turn red and there was dust everywhere—it was quite an experience that Mummy loved.

If the winter weather pattern has high pressure blocking, we can then get the Beast from the East, which brings freezing temperatures and snow in from the East.

The cold spell we experienced over Christmas and the start of the year 2026 was driven from the North because of the position of the Scandinavian blocking high pressure. This cold spell has been across Europe, and Lapland has experienced record low temperatures of -42.8c.  Mummy has visited Lapland several times, and the lowest she has experienced is -30c and that was VERY cold.

Do you have a favourite weather? Our mummy’s is snow, she just loves it and finds falling snow and the sparkle and crunch of laying so super special. 

We will delve into some more weather facts and types of weather in future articles. 

Arctic Birds Migrating–A Spectacle to Enjoy

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Guest Post–Angel Alma

Southeast Finland is ideally situated if you want to watch the arctic birds’ spring and especially autumn migration.

For instance, waders nesting in the North migrate in the springtime following the south coast of the country, but also those various species of geese.

Perhaps the best-known migration show for common watchers, besides the “serious” birdwatchers, is the autumnal migration of Barnacle geese. Barnacle geese nest mostly around the Barents Sea, located north of the coasts of Norway and Russia.

They fly over Finland to their wintering areas around the North Sea. (Nowadays, Finland also has their own resident population, filling lawns in the parks of Helsinki, but that’s another story…).

However, in the last 20 years, more Barnacles started taking a stopover in SE Finland, to rest and eat before continuing their journey, usually in October. They changed habits a bit by surprise, landing in front of astonished humans.

Farmers weren’t, nor are joyful, using, for example, streamers, to frighten unwelcome visitors from fields. 

Earlier, it was popular for birdwatchers to travel to Northern Karelia near the eastern border, where you could watch migration from a high hill and cover even the Russian side near Lake Ladoga, if the birds took that route.

A small town near the border even organized special Geese Weeks, where they erected a big tent with a stove to grill sausages and keep warm. 

In October, the weather can be chilly, and as the Geese Migration needs a northern or northeastern wind, warm clothes are essential. Not to mention the sometimes hours of standing and waiting in wind and rain, watching the empty sky.

Mum has been there to see the phenomenon jokingly called “suffer birding”. However, when the crowd approaches from afar, soaring above your person while honking, one simply admires. Serious watchers, of course, count and mark the species in exact numbers. 

Nowadays, you can watch the fall migration more easily. Just walk outside, and if you are lucky, listen to the honking approaching. Observe the sky, and they approach! Or visit the nearby fields, where geese fill their tummies and gather strength. 

Then one day the wind turns and starts blowing from the right direction. Birds become restless, flying a bit there and back. Finally, the urge and instinct make them rise and drift into a formation. They fly higher and leave. Until next spring.