Ready to shed your winter fur? Lakes warmer next week
For many Finns, a June ritual is the first proper swim in a lake, river or the sea – known as “shedding one’s winter fur”.
Traditionally this should happen before the Midsummer’s Eve (June 22 this year), although waters often remain chilly in the first month of summer.
So far this June, water in Finnish lakes is an average of one degree Celsius cooler than average.
The average surface temperature at swimming spots in southern and central Finland is 12-15 degrees, says Bertel Vehviläinen, chief hydrologist at the Finnish Environment Institute.
In northern Finland, temperatures at swimming beaches remain in the single digits.
“Within the next week the weather will warm up enough to raise swimming waters by two or three degrees,” said Vehviläinen on Monday. “That will bring us up to average temperatures.”
With more than 188,000 lakes to choose from, finding a place for a dip is not a problem.
Monday's high temperature was 20 degrees in Tohmajärvi, whereas at this time last year many parts of Finland were basking in temperatures in the low 30s.
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