Meteorologists: Warm and sunny weather rare around Midsummer in Estonia

This year, the weather did not favor Midsummer's Day celebrations, with rain falling throughout the holiday. Meteorologists say there's no reason to complain, as this is exactly the kind of weather typically expected around Midsummer. In recent years, the holiday had been warm and summery, but such conditions are rather rare in Estonia's climate.
In recent years, June has been dry, and that has simply spoiled us, meteorologists say. At Estonia's latitude and by the sea, the weather around the solstice tends to be quite changeable.
"The reason is our northern location. At this time of year, low-pressure systems from the Atlantic move across Northern Europe and over the Baltics, bringing rain," said Helve Meitern, chief meteorologist at the Environmental Agency.
On about 60 percent of Midsummer Days, it rains somewhere in Estonia. The islands and northwestern Estonia see slightly less precipitation, with roughly 30 percent of Midsummer Days being rainy there.
On Midsummer's Eve, revelers in western Estonia enjoyed somewhat better weather.
"That means it wasn't pouring down rain. But the eastern part of the country and once again South Estonia got a pretty solid soaking," noted Taimi Paljak, senior meteorologist at the Environmental Agency.
Chief meteorologist Meitern pointed out that while the summer of 2017 was rainy and miserable throughout, July 2018 turned sunny, warm and drier.
As for the weather during the upcoming Song and Dance Festival — it's a roll of the dice. Paljak remarked that late June and early July often bring changeable, unpredictable and mysterious weather. "Right up until the last moment, it's a matter of luck what kind of weather we get for the Dance Festival and the parade," she said.
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Editor: Marcus Turovski, Valner Väino