The northwest coast is windy Thursday morning, 9-14 m/s in gusts up to 18 m/s, with windspeeds in the southern half of the country forecast aat 5-11 m/s, in gusts up to 14 m/s. Temperatures are -9C to -5C in the east, -4C to -2C in the west and around zero on the islands.

During the day, the snow and sleet will spread in a band along the north coast, where snowfall will be heavy, but will fall rather as sleet in the northwest and on the islands, where, with air temperatures rising to around zero daytime, roads are likely to be slippery and hazardous, so take care if driving.

The South will not see any significant snowfall Thursday to add to that already on the ground, though it will be largely cloudy.

The daytime temperature will be as low as -6C in Võru County in the southeast, -4 to -3C in the center and east/northeast, and will hover around zero in Tallinn, western and southwestern Estonia, and the islands. These relatively mild temperatures will seem colder, however, with the strong winds, particularly in coastal areas – gusts up to 20 m/s in the northwest and in Tallinn, and a general range of 10-14 m/s, with only slightly lower windspeeds in the south.

Temperatures will fluctuate, however – as high as -5C on average during the day on December 26, and an average nighttime temperature as low as -16C overnight December 27-28.

Similar conditions will prevail through the Christmas break, with snow forecast for December 24 – when Christmas is celebrated in Estonia –petering out into sleet and even rain later on that day, though with snowstorms forecast for the islands and northeastern Estonia.

Overnight Christmas eve to Christmas day, the average temperature is likely to be quite mild, at -2C.

Behind the changeable conditions is an area of low pressure moving over the country Friday, while from early next week it will be clearer, but colder.

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