Severe summer storm Päivö leaves more than 60 000 homes without power in parts of Finland
Image credit: Tarinagolfin sankaritarinoita/YouTube
Severe summer storm Päivö brought heavy rain, thunderstorms, and wind gusts up to 97 km/h (60 mph) to many parts of Finland on Tuesday, June 30, 2020. Almost 60 000 households were left without electricity after strong wind knocked down numerous power lines.
The worst of the storm moved from Yläa-Savo to North Karelia and towards Kainuu overnight. Power companies said more than 60 000 homes were left without power on Tuesday evening, but some services were restored in a number of areas.
Around 26 000 households served by Savon Voima were still without power at 03:00 UTC, while 13 700 houses in the northern Karelia were also still affected as of 06:00 UTC.
The areas hit badly by power outages include Lieksa, Nurmes, Juuka, Polvijärvi, Tohmajärvi, Kitee, Liperi ,and Valtimo.
The force of the gusts was described as dangerously strong. According to authorities, it could take a few more days to restore power to households in areas from southern Savo to Kainuu.
After a month of heat in northern Scandinavia, it all ended with a named storm on Tuesday. Storm Päivö toppled trees and cut power to 85,000 homes. The next 2 days will see the windy & wet weather spreading eastwards. pic.twitter.com/EjjdOcipAC
— BBC Weather (@bbcweather) July 1, 2020
The North Savo Rescue Department said their crew has been busy with calls since the storm, and that damage prevention work is ongoing.
Power disruptions also affected train services and caused delays, including intercity services between Oulu and Helsinki; Pendolino services between Kahaani and Helsinki, and Karjaa and Helsinki.
Track disruptions also impacted local train services between Nurmes and Joensuu, while trains between Suonenjoki and Lapinlahti are replaced with bus service on Wednesday.
Storm #Päivö seen by the Finnish radar network. Strongest wind gust 26.9 m/s in Liperi and highest 24-hour rainfall 87.7 mm in Joutsa. pic.twitter.com/WLTi2IfZpb
— Mika Rantanen (@mikarantane) July 1, 2020
Mirja Kähkönen, who's spending the summer on the shores of Lake Pielinen in Lieksa, North Karelia, said she went outside and checked the storm's aftermath on Wednesday morning.
"Everything rattled in the night's wind. There were terrible waves on the lake and the water was grey. A tree fell on a shed in the yard, and it's still windy."
While the storm itself is over, some regions may still experience further rain or thunderstorms, which could get severe in some areas, according to the Finnish Meteorological Institute's (FMI) meteorologist Helena Laakso.
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