The Finnish Meteorological Institute and traffic-management company Fintraffic have issued nationwide warnings for Thursday, 27 February, as a potent weather system brings up to 15 cm of snow, pockets of freezing drizzle and a rapid temperature rise toward +5 °C in the south. The Helsinki Times reports that driving conditions will be rated “poor to very poor” in every region at different times of the day, with visibility reduced by blowing snow and later by sleet.
Fintraffic urged motorists to postpone non-essential journeys and to allow extra time if travel is unavoidable, especially during the morning and afternoon peaks on key business corridors such as the E75 (Helsinki–Oulu) and E18 (Turku–St Petersburg). Rail operators VR Group and commuter network HSL have pre-emptively adjusted timetables and warned of potential speed restrictions that could lengthen long-distance journeys by 15–30 minutes.
![Heavy snow, ice and thaw cycle to disrupt road and rail travel across Finland on 27 February]()
Travel planners and foreign visitors may also want to double-check that their travel documents are in order before braving the wintry roads and rails. VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) offers a quick, online way to verify visa requirements, obtain electronic authorizations and track application status in real time—services that can spare travelers an unnecessary trip to a consulate on a day when the weather already complicates itineraries.
For corporate-mobility managers, the timing is awkward: Thursday is typically one of the heaviest domestic travel days for consultants and field engineers on weekly rotations. Employers should trigger remote-work contingencies, remind staff of revised duty-of-care check-in procedures and verify that car-rental contracts include winter-tyre and roadside-assistance clauses. Air traffic at Helsinki Airport is expected to operate, but de-icing queues could cause knock-on delays to European connections.
Looking ahead, meteorologists forecast a freeze-thaw cycle into the weekend, meaning that refreezing of wet surfaces may create black-ice hazards for both vehicles and pedestrians—a factor that relocation managers should highlight in arrival briefings for newly landed assignees unfamiliar with Nordic winter driving.
Fintraffic urged motorists to postpone non-essential journeys and to allow extra time if travel is unavoidable, especially during the morning and afternoon peaks on key business corridors such as the E75 (Helsinki–Oulu) and E18 (Turku–St Petersburg). Rail operators VR Group and commuter network HSL have pre-emptively adjusted timetables and warned of potential speed restrictions that could lengthen long-distance journeys by 15–30 minutes.
Travel planners and foreign visitors may also want to double-check that their travel documents are in order before braving the wintry roads and rails. VisaHQ’s Finland portal (https://www.visahq.com/finland/) offers a quick, online way to verify visa requirements, obtain electronic authorizations and track application status in real time—services that can spare travelers an unnecessary trip to a consulate on a day when the weather already complicates itineraries.
For corporate-mobility managers, the timing is awkward: Thursday is typically one of the heaviest domestic travel days for consultants and field engineers on weekly rotations. Employers should trigger remote-work contingencies, remind staff of revised duty-of-care check-in procedures and verify that car-rental contracts include winter-tyre and roadside-assistance clauses. Air traffic at Helsinki Airport is expected to operate, but de-icing queues could cause knock-on delays to European connections.
Looking ahead, meteorologists forecast a freeze-thaw cycle into the weekend, meaning that refreezing of wet surfaces may create black-ice hazards for both vehicles and pedestrians—a factor that relocation managers should highlight in arrival briefings for newly landed assignees unfamiliar with Nordic winter driving.
