Finland's Summer Lightning Falls to One-Third of Average, Tampere Church Hit

Data from the Finnish Meteorological Institute show Finland recorded about 30,100 lightning strikes during the May–September thunder season this year, roughly one-third of the 2002–2025 average. July produced the most strikes at 11,200, but even that was only about a third of the long-term norm. August had 8,400 strikes, June 6,400, May 3,000 and September 1,200. The institute attributes the unusually low counts to a summer dominated by low-pressure systems and relatively cool airflows, thunderstorm researcher Terhi Laurila says. The single busiest day was 16 August, when about 5,600 strikes accompanied violent storms in Pohjanmaa, Etelä-Pohjanmaa and parts of Keski-Suomi.

Despite the quieter season, storms still caused damage. On 18 July a lightning strike hit a church tower in Tampere and started a fire, a shopping-centre parking garage flooded and rescue services handled multiple damage-control tasks, thunderstorm researcher Meri Virman said in a Finnish Meteorological Institute press release. Heavy rain on 12 July led to a road collapse in Somero, and summer storms also brought hail and other localized impacts.

Earlier this summer Tampere saw limited damage after a downpour after a weekend downpour, and a storage building in nearby Mänttä‑Vilppula was reportedly destroyed by lightning in a separate incident and in a separate lightning strike incident.