The seasons
First of all, you should know that nature is dazzlingly beautiful all year round! Spring begins in May. After a fabulous blossoming that lasts only a few days (celebrated by the night of Walpurgis from April 30 to May1 ), the short and intense summer emerges, warm, bright and invigorating. The highest temperatures are in July. In Lapland, expect an average of 20°C, although the thermometer can reach 30°C. However, summer is also mosquito season and there are many mosquitoes in this region! On Midsummer's Day, daylight shines for 20 hours in the south. North of the polar circle, in Utsjoki, the sun does not set between mid-May and the end of July. An unforgettable memory guaranteed... From the end of August, the weather gets cooler. In Lapland, the ruska
, the fabulous Lappish autumn of September, is magnificent. The foliage then declines their golden and red flashes. The first snow usually covers the north of the country from October to mid-May.The most pleasant month to travel to Lapland in winter is March, when it is warmer and the snow cover is at its maximum, and the days last longer. The thaw period in May should be avoided. In summer, Lapland is very pleasant in June or September, as there are fewer mosquitoes. Southern Finland is white between November and the end of March, although the snow is becoming less and less persistent. The Finnish winter, although very cold, is still dry. This makes the extreme temperatures seem much more bearable. Don't panic, Finnish houses are perfectly insulated, systematically equipped with double or even triple glazing. To find out more about the climate and weather, visit www.foreca.com.
The winter of 2019, which has been particularly mild, is causing concern. One of the most dramatic consequences is the lack of bird migrations. Eventually, the northern species may run out of space, a reproduction that may start too early and generate a lack of food for the chicks ... Another big problem, at the Helsinki Zoo, two brown bears woke up in early 2020, after only two months of hibernation. This is a real problem because in the long run, in addition to completely disrupting their cycle, the cells age more quickly in animals that shorten their hibernation period.The midnight sun and the polar night
Between the months of May and July, the midnight sun illuminates the Lappish sky with a diaphanous light
The midnight sun occurs in summer, and in the area between the south of the Antarctic Circle and the north of the Arctic Circle. The Earth orbits around an axis that is tilted in relation to the sun. Thus, in summer, the North Pole is oriented towards the sun. Beyond the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set for several weeks; this is called the "polar day".
On the other hand, the daytime star disappears completely in the Far North, between the end of November and the beginning of January: this is the kaamos, the long polar night.
And this period also allows the observation of the Northern Lights... Perhaps you will have the chance to witness this extraordinary spectacle. Many legends exist on this subject, particularly among the Sami people. However, scientific research has allowed us to penetrate the mystery of the aurora borealis, these magnificent red, purple, green, blue or white colours that stretch like ribbons in the cold immensity of the Arctic and Antarctic sky (aurora australis). It is to the eruptions of the sun that we owe these unforgettable appearances. From a scientific point of view, it is "the result of the collision of energetically charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere. This solar wind is then directed into the atmosphere by the Earth's magnetic field. "
The night must be as dark as possible and above latitude 60°N. As the solar particles enter the Earth's atmosphere, they release their energy (protons and electrons) when they come into contact with gas molecules such as oxygen and nitrogen. The festival of colours and shades can begin... Lapland, because of its proximity to the pole, is one of the major sites for observing these unheard-of natural phenomena. From March to May (ideal period), preferably between 10 and 10:30 pm, look up... You will never forget it.
In Lapland
The climate is extremely harsh. The polar night, with its strange purple sky, lasts for several weeks in winter. Temperatures can drop to -45°C with a snow depth of 60 to 90 cm and an equally spectacular ice thickness of 50 to 65 cm on the lakes. In spring and autumn, the temperature threshold is 5°C, above which it is spring and the snow and ice melt; below 5°C, it is autumn. In summer, the sun no longer sets. The polar day lasts about 73 days of non-stop sunshine in the northernmost regions. The snow disappears towards the end of May and the lake systems are free of ice in June in Lapland. The thermometer then rises to nearly 20°C (the midnight sun).
