First few days of 2025 to get colder, some snowfall due
Colder weather than seen in recent weeks is forecast to set in in Estonia over the next few days, and the second day of 2025 will dawn with some overnight snowfall evident.
This snow, merging into sleet and rain in areas with milder temperatures, significantly reduced visibility when driving at night.
The strong winds seen in recent days continued, from the south, though with the arrival of Thursday morning both the direction and speed have changed: Northerlies of 3-9 meters per second in gusts on the coasts, up to 14 meters per second, are expected.
Friday morning dawns overcast, with only occasional snow and sleet showers chiefly in the southern half of the country, including over Saaremaa.
Temperatures will remain below zero, in fact a little lower than they had been overnight, and down to -4 degrees in the northeast this morning.
As the day wears on, more light snowfall is expected, particularly in western and southern parts of the country – in the westernmost areas of the mainland, the precipitation is likely to fall more as sleet and rain, given the mercury is set to rise above zero there, to as high as +2 degrees.
Tallinn and the northwest coast will see temperatures remain around zero, while anywhere east of a notional line drawn from Tallinn down to Viljandi will experience ambient temperatures of -3 to -2 degrees during the day.
As the week progresses, this already more seasonal weather will take a more wintry turn still.
Temperatures will remain below freezing, with nighttime lows potentially dipping below -10 degrees Celsius in inland areas. The mean ambient nighttime lows are forecast to fall from -4 Thursday night to -8 Friday night into Saturday morning; Saturday night may be slightly less cold.
Similarly, the daytime air temperatures will hover around the -3 to -5-degree mark on average.
Heavier snowfall is expected on Friday than will be seen today, and during the night into Saturday.
Both weekend days may bring additional snowfall, particularly in southern Estonia, where the likelihood of snow buildup is highest. Dawn today is at 9:17 a.m., sunset at 3:32 p.m. By contrast, on Sunday, the respective times will be 9:14 a.m. and 3:49 p.m.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Merili Nael
Source: 'Aktuaalne kaamera,' meteorologist Taimi Paljak.
