Storm warning issued from Wednesday, snow forecast for weekend
The current mild weather will give way to stormy, colder conditions from Thursday as low-pressure systems move in from the west and northwest, Maaleht reports.
The Environment Agency (Keskonnagentuur) has warned of "hazardous conditions," with snow and sleet arriving at the weekend.
This means that driving with summer tires, although still legal, will no longer be safe from Saturday. Drivers are urged to change to winter tires if they have not already done so.
On Wednesday, November 12, an active cyclone is set to cross from the Norwegian Sea to the northern part of the Gulf of Bothnia, north of Estonia, bringing strong southwesterly winds to the Baltic Sea region, with gusts up to 18 meters per second. However, ambient temperatures will remain as mild as they have been recently: +3–7C at night (and even up to +9C in coastal areas) and up to +10C during the day.
Thursday will similarly be stormy but with mild temperatures up to +10C again, and the storm system will gain additional energy from a vortex again moving from Norway, raising south and southwesterly wind gusts up to 23 meters per second. This will be accompanied by rain showers, which will lighten in the evening.
From Friday, some of the rain showers will turn to sleet as it gets chillier, with temperatures ranging from +1–4°C at night and +2–5°C during the day. This is due to an active low-pressure system moving eastward, bringing cooler air, with gusts on the north coast reaching up to 24 meters per second.
Finally, overnight Friday into Saturday, November 15, temperatures will drop to around freezing, creating hazardous driving conditions as rain and sleet fall on roads with a surface temperature barely above zero. Again, vehicles should have their winter tires on by this date, and a snow layer of 1–4 cm is forecast for inland areas as daytime temperatures barely go above +2C, dropping to as low as -3C overnight Saturday into Sunday.
By Sunday, a new secondary cyclone will reach Finland from the Norwegian coast, bringing additional moisture, meaning a mixture of rain and sleet during the day in Estonia, driven by strong westerlies.
More cold air is set to arrive in Estonia on Monday, courtesy of the same low-pressure system, with snow on the mainland, falling as sleet over the islands, and again driven by strong winds.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Maaleht
