Morning traffic in Lommila, Espoo, on 2 February 2024. With a political strike causing widespread disruptions to public transport services in Helsinki, Tampere and Turku between Wednesday and Thursday, traffic congestions are possible especially due to heavy snowfall forecast for southern and western parts of the country for Wednesday. (Heikki Saukkomaa – Lehtikuva)
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THE COMBINATION of challenging weather conditions and public transport strikes could test the patience of commuters in southern parts of Finland on Wednesday, reports YLE.
Elias Paakkanen, a meteorologist at YLE, on Tuesday encouraged motorists to be on the lookout for updates on congestions and road conditions, with a weather front arriving from the south-west forecast to dump 5–15 centimetres of snow on southern and western areas of Finland.
“You have to be especially careful on the roads. Traffic may be particularly difficult during the commuter-traffic peak at eight [this] morning,” he commented.
Although snow may fall also in other parts of Finland on Wednesday, the heaviest snowfall is forecast to occur in southern and western parts, with 15 centimetres of snow to fall in areas along the southern coast and 5 centimetres in areas along the western coast.
The Trade Union for the Public and Welfare Sectors (JHL) is today launching a two-day political strike that will disrupt public transport services in Helsinki, Tampere and Turku. Metro and tram services in the cities will be completely unavailable, whereas bus services will experience widespread disruptions.
Sami Räihä, a traffic management centre operator in Tampere, on Tuesday told YLE that he does not expect the strike to lead to significant congestions.
“We’ve already had transport strikes, and they didn’t cause massive congestions. Of course, bad weather has been forecast for coastal areas, but I don’t think you’ll see worse than the usual disruptions,” he assured to the public broadcasting company.
Paakkanen on Tuesday also revealed that temperatures are forecast to remain below zero at least until the weekend. More snow is also on the way.
“The forecastability of these humid fronts diminishes the further ahead you read the weather. Rains over the weekend can be heavy, and in southern areas they may take the form of water,” he revealed.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
