Cold Wave in Finland and Sweden Leads to Train Cancellations

Cold temperatures led train operators to cancel passenger trains in some areas of Sweden. A cold wave hit Finland and Sweden Tuesday bringing the coldest global temperatures on record so far this winter with some in the Nordic region feeling temperatures as cold as minus 42 degrees. A man pulls a small boat as he walks on the frozen sea in Helsinki, Finland.

Key Facts

• In northern Sweden, thermometers showed temperatures reaching minus 42.8 degrees on Tuesday, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported.
• The cold spell led train operator Vy Tåg in Sweden to cancel all passenger trains north of Umeå, Sweden, until Thursday when temperatures are expected to rise again, SVT reported.
• The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute has issued snow and wind warnings for central and southern Sweden as well as warnings about moderate to severe icing of ships in a handful of waterways including the North Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland.
• In Finland, the Finnish Meteorological Institute recorded temperatures as low as minus 36 in the northern part of the country on Tuesday. Similarly, Finland faces warnings of extremely cold temperatures for the rest of the week that could exceed 40 below zero in some areas, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Tangent It’s not just Sweden and Finland seeing severe weather conditions as a result of the cold wave, with Norway experiencing large amounts of snow. Agder, located in southern Norway, has seen upwards of 27 inches of snow causing school closures and warnings from police for residents not to drive on the roads, according to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NRK.