Characteristics of the climate of Finland 

Finland is a long country so the climate in the southern part is clearly warmer than that of the northern part. There are also some special features of the humid continental and tundra climate. The continental effects come from the large continent of Eurasia and the differences between the seasons are emphasized. Occasionally the continental air mass spreads to Finland and stays in place for a long time. In that case there can be long warm and dry periods during the summer time and then again in winter time there can be hard freezing weather. 

The climate of the west coast is milded by the Gulf of Bottnia. The effect of the Gulf of Finland reaches as a narrow zone to the south coast. Because of the effect of the warming sea and the low ground it is warmer in winter than it is in the inland and the covering of snow is thinner. In the low inland the air flows can move easily, so the relevant air mass covers large part of Finland. 

It rains evenly and enough for the flora in Finland. The most, over 600 mm/year, it rains in the coast of the southern Finland. In Lapland the annual rainfall is only 400 mm. The most it rains in July and August, the least in March. The highest temperature is reached usually in the early July and the lowest in January. 

The orbit of the Earth causes the seasons of the year. When the northern part of the globe is twisted to the Sun, it is summer in Finland. Then the average temperature of the 24-hour period is over +10 C. Similarly when the southern part of the globe is twisted to the Sun it is winter in Finland. The difference between the average temperature between the southern and the northern part is then 13 degrees. The winter begins when the temperature drops under zero. In the southern part the winter lasts about five months. In the Lapland the winter begins around the 10th of October, in the middle parts a month later and in the south-western parts it begins not until the middle of December.