• Arctic cold wave freezes Lapland airports, disrupts travel across northern Europe

    Thousands of tourists were stranded in northern Finland on January 11, 2026, after flights at Kittilä Airport were canceled due to extreme cold that made de-icing and fueling operations impossible. Temperatures dropped to −37°C (−34.6°F), one of the lowest readings of the winter season, amid a wider Arctic cold outbreak affecting large parts of northern and central Europe.

  • Three killed in Sweden as Storm Johannes sweeps across Nordic countries

    A powerful winter storm named Johannes swept across the Nordic countries over the weekend, killing three people in Sweden and leaving hundreds of thousands without electricity across Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Sweden’s Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI) issued widespread alerts for strong winds as the system moved north. The storm, known as Hannes in Finland, also caused major travel disruptions, grounding flights and halting rail and ferry traffic.

  • Finland’s Kalajoki Valley hit by floods, evacuations amid ice dam collapses

    Officials in Northern Ostrobothnia have issued flood warnings due to rising water levels in the Kalajoki River, impacting the municipalities of Ylivieska, Alavieska, and Kalajoki. Evacuations were conducted in Niemelänkylä, where three individuals were safely moved on Saturday night, 130 km (80 km) south of Oulu.

  • Finland records coldest January temperature since 2006

    Finland experienced its coldest January temperature since 2006 when Enontekiö Airport registered -42.4 °C (-44.3 °F) on January 4, 2024. The severe cold is not isolated to Finland, as nearby regions in Sweden and Norway have also reported record-low temperatures, indicating a widespread Arctic chill across the Nordic countries.