The Finnish Meteorological Institute issued a warning on driving conditions in southern and central areas on Friday, which will be in effect until 6 a.m. on Saturday.

Driving conditions are hazardous in many parts of Finland on Friday due to a series of sleet and snow.

The Fintraffic regional office in Tampere has warned of particularly difficult road conditions in the area, while the Finnish Meteorological Institute has issued a warning of dangerous driving conditions for the southern and central regions, which will be in effect until 6 a.m. Saturday morning.

Conditions are particularly bad in the regions of Kanta and Päijät-Häme, Kymenlaakso and Pirkanmaa, the IMF said.

“Now is the time to switch to friction or studded winter tires, if someone hasn’t already. Now is definitely the time for winter tires across the country.” Kimmo Fager Fintraffic said.

Yle News’ Matthew Schilke explained the new winter tire regulations in an Instagram reel.

Temperatures drop to -17 in Lapland

Thursday night was the coldest of the season so far: the temperature dropped to -16.7 degrees Celsius in Sodankylä in Finnish Lapland, according to the IMF.

Despite the sub-zero temperatures, driving conditions in the Finnish Lapland region are relatively good, notes Fintraffic.

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The forecast for the weekend suggests cloudy conditions in many parts of the country, with rain in the south and east. Temperatures during the day on Saturday will range between 5 degrees Celsius in the south and -2 in Finnish Lapland.

The outlook for next week is for milder temperatures and no more snow is expected.

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