Sweden welcomes winter as first snowflakes fall
TT/The Local - [email protected]
Published: 5 Sep, 2015 CET.
Updated: Sun 6 Sep 2015 09:09 CET
The first snow has fallen in Sweden's north, signalling that winter is well and truly on its way. Meanwhile large parts of the country are experiencing heavy rain.
Swedish meteorological agency SMHI has furthermore issued 13 class one (in an ascending scale of three) weather warnings spread over the country.
Heavy rain storms are forecast to sweep across the country with southern Sweden already having been lashed during Saturday.
"It Is very persistent rain," said Therese Fogman, SMHI meteorologist.
SMHI has issued warnings with forecasts of as much as 30-50 millimetres of rain in Sörmland, Östergötland and southern parts of Stockholm before the end of Sunday.
"There may be some basements flooded and large pools of water on some roads and urban areas," Fogman said.
The rain has moved in due to a low pressure front moving in from across the Baltic Sea and the west of the country.
Southern and central Sweden are currently being the hardest hit with a further band of rain stretching across from Västerås to Dalarna and Värmland.
A football match between IK Oddevold and Husqvarna FF in Division 1 was cancelled on Saturday due to the downpour.
"It's chaos throughout Jonkoping. We couldn't roll a ball on the pitch due to all the rain. We regret having to postpone but we aim to play on Wednesday," said Issa Iskander at Husqvarna FF.
Låktatjåkko mountain station near Björkliden in Swedish Lapland reported snow on Friday night and the early hours of Saturday, the first of the season.
"For me it is always a pleasant surprise when the snow comes. There will be a change, it will be light, and it is a beginning of winter," said Malin Hagberg at the station.
At lunchtime the thermometer had crept up to a couple of degrees above zero and the snow had turned into sleet.
"There were a few complaints from guests at breakfast. But most of us here associate the mountains with winter, even if we like the summer too," Malin Hagberg said.
For those less keen on a September dawn of winter, SMHI had some upbeat news for the working week with sunny spells forecast in many parts on Monday.
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Swedish meteorological agency SMHI has furthermore issued 13 class one (in an ascending scale of three) weather warnings spread over the country.
Heavy rain storms are forecast to sweep across the country with southern Sweden already having been lashed during Saturday.
"It Is very persistent rain," said Therese Fogman, SMHI meteorologist.
SMHI has issued warnings with forecasts of as much as 30-50 millimetres of rain in Sörmland, Östergötland and southern parts of Stockholm before the end of Sunday.
"There may be some basements flooded and large pools of water on some roads and urban areas," Fogman said.
The rain has moved in due to a low pressure front moving in from across the Baltic Sea and the west of the country.
Southern and central Sweden are currently being the hardest hit with a further band of rain stretching across from Västerås to Dalarna and Värmland.
A football match between IK Oddevold and Husqvarna FF in Division 1 was cancelled on Saturday due to the downpour.
"It's chaos throughout Jonkoping. We couldn't roll a ball on the pitch due to all the rain. We regret having to postpone but we aim to play on Wednesday," said Issa Iskander at Husqvarna FF.
Låktatjåkko mountain station near Björkliden in Swedish Lapland reported snow on Friday night and the early hours of Saturday, the first of the season.
"For me it is always a pleasant surprise when the snow comes. There will be a change, it will be light, and it is a beginning of winter," said Malin Hagberg at the station.
At lunchtime the thermometer had crept up to a couple of degrees above zero and the snow had turned into sleet.
"There were a few complaints from guests at breakfast. But most of us here associate the mountains with winter, even if we like the summer too," Malin Hagberg said.
For those less keen on a September dawn of winter, SMHI had some upbeat news for the working week with sunny spells forecast in many parts on Monday.
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