Moody Finnish weather

My intention is not to go on a negative rant about Finnish weather, but sometimes it cannot be avoided.  :)  We just hit the month of June and in Finland you would have thought it was the middle of Winter minus the snow.  A storm came to town for the first weekend in June and just in time for Graduation ceremonies which are occurring all over Finland this weekend.  Non stop rain overnight left swollen gutters and nasty surprises for those early morning drivers.  I know that the weather is not always perfect in Finland,  but they have had their share of warm summers, and Summer rain normally just means a small passing shower.  This weekend's storm caught me off guard to say the least.  Looking on the bright side, Finland which is about the same latitude as Alaska, is spared the very harsh weather by having the Gulf Stream warm up the air.  If it wasn't for the generous Gulf Stream, Finland's climate would be way less desirable.

Last weekend I did the Tour d' Espoo bike ride.  This 110 kilometer bike ride (cycling) featured nice views of the Baltic Ocean as well as scenic countryside and many lakes. The weather for this ride was just what the doctor ordered.  It was about 73 degrees and sunny, and I even got sunburned!  It was a really neat way to tour Espoo via bike.  Espoo is one of the largest cities in Finland in both size and population, but since Finland is so sparsely populated, even Espoo has it's share of open countryside and farms.

Anyhow, being a spoiled Californian, I could easily predict the Summer weather and seasons.  We barely had a drop of rain during the Summer and you could pretty much plan on having nice weather from early May through October without fail.  There are even streaks of warm (20 celsius or more) weather during February and March where I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.  I knew coming to Finland that I would have to make some sacrifices on the weather front.  They say that you can get used to things, but after 40 years of living in California, the adjustment has not always been easy.  So, when you decide to visit Finland, just remember that the weather is a bit of  "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".  It can be restrictive at times, but with a good attitude, you should do just fine.  :)