Finnish Meteorologist Faces Angry Backlash Over Summer Weather

Finnish meteorologist Markus Mäntykannas has been inundated with critical and even angry feedback regarding the summer's weather. Many Finns have expressed frustration, perceiving the season as unusually cool and rainy, leading to widespread dissatisfaction.

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I have received a lot of harsh and even angry feedback about the weather on my social media channels and in my email.

Mäntykannas, however, states that the summer has been largely in line with historical averages. "Temperatures from the beginning of June to mid-August have been very close to historical averages," he explained, referencing data from 1991-2020. He believes the public's strong emotional reactions might stem from the prevalence of clouds and rain, which can create a misleading impression of a generally cool summer. "There have been individual weeks this summer that were really dismal for holidaymakers," he noted, particularly mentioning the end of July, a peak vacation period, which saw significant rain and cool temperatures.

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Temperatures from the beginning of June to mid-August have been very close to historical averages.

He reminds the public that consistently hot and clear summers are the exception in Finland, and a mix of hot and cool summers is normal. "Perhaps we have become accustomed to too good summers in recent years and forgotten what typical summer weather is like," Mäntykannas suggested. He also clarified that climate change does not guarantee steadily warming summers in Finland; its primary impact is on winters.

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There have been individual weeks this summer that were really dismal for holidaymakers.

The meteorologist also addressed public trust in weather forecasts, acknowledging that this summer's variable and unstable weather has been challenging to predict. Forecasts were complicated by the movement of high-pressure systems in Western Europe, which typically reduce cloud cover and favor sunny, dry weather. These systems have persistently stayed over Western Europe, while low-pressure systems have continued over Finland. Mäntykannas believes these atmospheric patterns may be influenced by the strong El Niño phenomenon. While he anticipates the high-pressure system will eventually move, bringing milder, sunnier weather, he cautioned that long-term forecasts always carry uncertainty, and any such shift would likely not occur until autumn at the earliest.

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Perhaps we have become accustomed to too good summers in recent years and forgotten what typical summer weather is like.