Is Sweden heading for a white Christmas?
Despite what you may think for a Scandinavian country, it’s not necessarily a given that there will always be snow on Christmas in Sweden, particularly in the south. Here’s what the forecast looks like this year.
Northern Sweden
In the north of the country, snow on Christmas is almost guaranteed, and this year is no different.
SMHI, Sweden’s Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, predicts that conditions will be very snowy and windy, especially along the coast from Gävle up to around Sundsvall, where the institute has put an orange weather warning in place.
“On Thursday and Friday there’ll be a deep low pressure front coming in from the west, bringing with it a lot of snow, with the most in Gästrikland, Hälsingland and southern Medelpad, around 20-30 centimetres, as well as a lot of wind,” SMHI meteorologist Mattias Lind told TT newswire on Tuesday.
Central Sweden
There’s snow forecast for central Sweden too on Thursday and Friday, around 10-20 centimetres in Värmland and Dalarna and 5 centimetres in eastern Svealand, Lind said.
There could also be difficult road conditions in some areas.
“In Götaland and eastern Svealand, so in the Stockholm area, things will be a little bit milder on Thursday morning, which means it will get quite slushy,” he added.
SMHI has issued a yellow warning for snowfall in Svealand, northern Östergötland and Västernorrland.
Southern Sweden
On Friday, this cold weather front will move south throughout the country, bringing with it snowfall from Svealand all the way down to Skåne.
“In Skåne there will also be strong winds on Thursday evening and Friday, so there might be a need for a wind warning there,” Lind said.
On Saturday 23rd this low front will move towards the east, with conditions remaining cold and clear across almost the whole country, meaning the snow should stick around for Christmas Eve on the 24th.
The only area which might miss out is the coastal regions of western and southern Skåne, where snow could fall as rain instead.
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Northern Sweden
In the north of the country, snow on Christmas is almost guaranteed, and this year is no different.
SMHI, Sweden’s Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, predicts that conditions will be very snowy and windy, especially along the coast from Gävle up to around Sundsvall, where the institute has put an orange weather warning in place.
“On Thursday and Friday there’ll be a deep low pressure front coming in from the west, bringing with it a lot of snow, with the most in Gästrikland, Hälsingland and southern Medelpad, around 20-30 centimetres, as well as a lot of wind,” SMHI meteorologist Mattias Lind told TT newswire on Tuesday.
Central Sweden
There’s snow forecast for central Sweden too on Thursday and Friday, around 10-20 centimetres in Värmland and Dalarna and 5 centimetres in eastern Svealand, Lind said.
There could also be difficult road conditions in some areas.
“In Götaland and eastern Svealand, so in the Stockholm area, things will be a little bit milder on Thursday morning, which means it will get quite slushy,” he added.
SMHI has issued a yellow warning for snowfall in Svealand, northern Östergötland and Västernorrland.
Southern Sweden
On Friday, this cold weather front will move south throughout the country, bringing with it snowfall from Svealand all the way down to Skåne.
“In Skåne there will also be strong winds on Thursday evening and Friday, so there might be a need for a wind warning there,” Lind said.
On Saturday 23rd this low front will move towards the east, with conditions remaining cold and clear across almost the whole country, meaning the snow should stick around for Christmas Eve on the 24th.
The only area which might miss out is the coastal regions of western and southern Skåne, where snow could fall as rain instead.
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