Sun set to shine on late Swedish summer

After a summer which has hitherto offered up mostly rain, bad weather and flooding, the sunshine may be just around the corner, according to the latest weather forecasts.

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"Those who go on holiday now seem to have drawn the long straw," said Alexandra Ohlsson, a meteorologist at Swedish meteorological agency SMHI.

The summer heat is set to arrive already this weekend with sunny spells and dry weather in most parts of the country and with temperatures set to climb.

According to SMHI the mercury in some parts may display temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius. And what's more, the nice weather is set to last.

"There will be generous temperatures when compared to how we have had it earlier this summer. We may be up to 23 or 24 degrees in some places," Alexandra Ohlsson said.

Following some 22 millimetres of rain in Roslagen north of Stockholm during the night, the skies are set to clear in mid-morning as a high pressure front pushes in across southern and central parts of the country.

Sunday promises temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius in Götaland and Svealand with only Norrland experiencing showers.

The high pressure front is set to bless Sweden with something approaching July weather for the remainder of the week.

In an analysis of the first two weeks of July from last week, SMHI concluded that it has been cold and rainy, although far from record-breaking in terms of precipitation.

Småland and Dalarna have been the worst hit with widespread flooding reported in some areas and over 100 millimetres of rain falling during the period.

While Swedes have been booking foreign holidays in droves in order to stock up on the sunshine, and despite appearances to the contrary, SMHI has concluded that the first half of July recorded fairly normal temperatures.

"I suspect that many think it was cold. But across the country generally, we have had normal temperatures. The reason for this is that at the beginning of the month we had a few days that were warmer than normal," Ohlsson said.

"Looking at the rainfall it is actually also close to normal in most places," she added.