Landscapes

Summer Months

June, July, August

Temperatures

In June temperatures at night are between +5 and +10 and by day between +10 and +25 degrees.

In July temperatures at night are between +5 and +15 and by day between +10 and +25 degrees.

In August temperatures at night are between +5 and +10 and by day between +10 and +20 degrees.

Light

In mid-June sun sets in the evening about 11.40 and rises about 2.30 am.

In mid-July sun sets in the evening about 11.00 and rises about 3.15 am.

In mid-August sun sets in the evening about 9.15 and rises about 4.50 am.

The Finnish summer is light, warm and green, the vegetation is lush and plants blossom. The best time to enjoy bird singing is before mid-June When birds breeding season is over, the birds stop singing. The howling of wolves can be heard on calm summer nights from afar.

Throughout the summer it is light, daylength become longer from early summer, during Midsummer there is the most amount of light when it is light for almost 24 hours. Sunset is not until late evening and rises during the small hours, the light time is also over an hour after sunset and to same extent over an hour before sunrise. In the later part of summer the twilight of night lasts only a short time. Sunrise of summer nights is one of the highlights of midsummer that one would wish everyone to experience.

In the beginning of August night can be twilit. The twilight of the night deepens when the month progresses and by the end of the month there are a few hours of darkness. After mid-August the first signs of autumn colours appear and the air temperature gets colder and as a result of cold nights, mist also starts to form.

Autumn months

September, October

Temperatures

In September temperatures at night are between -5 and +5 and by day between +5 and +15 degrees.

In October temperatures at night are between -10 and 0 and by day between -5 and +5 degrees.

Light

In mid-September the sun sets in the evening about 7.30 and rises about 6.20 am.

In mid-October the sun sets in the afternoon about 5.40 and rises about 7.50 am.

September is the time of autumn colours. In October Autumn colours have vanished and landscape is beautifully barren, wide and open. Autumn Colours on Ground stays until the snow. In the autumn the terrain and air is usually humid and the environment is peacefully quiet.

Autumn offers different light and colour what makes it wonderful to experience. After sunset and before sunrise there are a couple of hours of twilight before dark. Autumn evenings are twilit and nights are dark, increasing the chances to see the Northern Lights and the full moon.

The birds of summer can no longer be heard, but owls can be heard on autumn nights. In quiet evenings and nights, the howling of wolves can be heard outdoors when they communicate with each other. In the end of September there can be sub-zero nights resulting in the surrounding trees, grass and other vegetation to be covered with frost. Along with the sub-zero temperatures, snowfalls are also possible.

Winter months

November, December, January, February, March

Temperatures

In November temperatures at night are between -15 and 0 and by day between -10 and 0 degrees.

In December temperatures at night are between -20 and 0 and by day between -15 and 0 degrees.

In January temperatures at night are between -30 and -5 and by day between -30 and -5 degrees.

In February temperatures at night are between -30 and -5 and by day between -20 and -5 degrees.

In March temperatures at night are between -20 and -5 and by day between -15 and 0 degrees.

Light

In mid-November the sun sets in the afternoon about 3.00 and rises about 8.30 am.

In mid-December the sun sets in the afternoon about 2.00 and rises about 10.00 am.

In mid-January the sun sets in the afternoon about 2.50 and rises about 9.30 am.

In mid-February the sun sets in the afternoon about 4.30 and rises about 8.00 am.

In mid-March the sun sets in the afternoon about 6.00 and rises about 6.20 am.

Finnish winter is celebration of snow and ice. Snowfall and blizzard like conditions are common. Usually first snow falls in October, but staying snow may fall later in October or November, sometimes in December. Snow last during whole winter. It provides completely new opportunities to experience the nature. For example, it is possible to witness ‘Blue Moment’ when all surrounding seems to colour blue, caused by the last light of the sun.

In the winter time when natural food of small birds is under the snow, it is the best to feed these birds, and have possibility to see many of the birds visiting in the feeding place.

Darkness is present in the winter months. Before the snow, land is dark, but after snow it is much lighter. Although the sun is up only some hours. The shortest day is after mid-December, after that every day sun is up more and more. In February, the day length is much longer compared January. Darkness offers opportunities to witness beautiful full moon and Northern lights when it is possible to see them.

Spring months

April, May

Temperatures

In April temperatures at night are between -20 and +5 and by day between -5 and +5 degrees.

In May temperatures at night are between 0 and +10 and by day between 0 and +20 degrees.

Light

In mid-April the sun sets in the evening at around 8.40 and rises about 5.30 am.

In mid-May the sun sets in the evening about 10.15 and rises about 3.45 am.

The conditions of spring may vary from year to year, such as temperature, amount of snow and its melting rate. In April springs progression occurs quickly and the landscape may change rapidly. In the beginning of the month there may be a lot of snow and by the end there may only be a little left. Changes can be very quick with fast melting of snow occurring if there is warm weather and rain. Great changes in conditions may even happen in one week when both light intensity and warmth increase.

Usually in the beginning of the April here is a lot of snow, up to 1 meter. Combination of white snow and April sun cause bright light. Also in April ’Blue Moment’ occurs.  In mid-April when daytime temperature is above zero, snow turns soft, wet and condensed. In the evening and night once the temperature drops below zero again, it creates a frozen crust of snow, making it easy to walk on it.

Towards the end of April, the ground once covered by a thick layer of snow finally starts to reappear, with snow melting faster by the day. The first snow melts from around the trees and higher spots of the ground.

The sun provides warmth and more light towards summer and the light period of a day increases by several minutes a day.

The colours in the beginning of May vary in shades of brown. Green vegetation exists only in the needles of pines, until towards the end of May when the ground has shades of green. In June ground is already covered extensively with green vegetation. In mid-May terrain is still wet from the water of melted snow, after the middle of the month terrain begins to dry up.

Weather in early May could still be cool but warms up towards the end of the month. Evenings and mornings are light and nights only have a short time of twilight. The twilight of night gets shorter towards the summer. If there is a full moon it is not dark because light of the moon.

May is a good time for birds as most migratory birds are moving: passerines, waterfowl, eagles and falcons move to the north and it is possible to see them. Birds can be heard singing all throughout the surrounding environment. Owls may call at night, and sometimes they fly in the area or sit in surrounding trees. In good years when there are plenty of moles, owls have plenty of food and it is then possible to see or hear Tengmalm’s Owl, Ural Owl, Eurasian Pygmy Owl and Great Grey Owl.