Finland issues dangerous rain and flood warnings amid severe thunderstorms

The Finnish Meteorological Institute has placed heavy‑rain warnings on a large part of southern Finland for Sunday, covering Åland, Southwest Finland, Uusimaa, Kanta‑Häme, Pirkanmaa, Satakunta, Päijät‑Häme and Kymenlaakso. Rainfall could reach 20 mm per hour, with flood alerts issued for several regions as temperatures rise to 23‑30 °C.

Thunderstorms triggered flight restrictions at Helsinki‑Vantaa Airport, caused lightning strikes that ignited a house fire, and led to widespread power outages affecting thousands of customers. Rescue services recorded dozens of calls, including flood‑related incidents, fallen trees and electrical failures, while the storm also disrupted rail and road traffic across the affected counties.