Severe weather in Norrfjärden, north of Umeå, has caused thousands of trees to blow over, leaving many without power. Umeå Energi technicians are working to clear the devastation and restore electricity.

Severe snow and wind storms in northern Sweden have left at least 10,000 households without power in Västerbotten. Schools have closed, and traffic disruptions are reported across affected areas.

Extreme cold has hit the north of Sweden, with temperatures reaching lower than -40 degrees Celsius in some areas.On Tuesday, train company VY announced that all departures north of Umeå were cancelled until Thursday for safety reasons, due to the cold weather.

Heavier rains and aging distribution networks are triggering more cases of public water supply contamination. The local utility takes water from the Esse River for processing and distribution. Because of recent heavy rains and strong runoff, it contains an unusually high level of solid matter.

More than 100 acres of forest have burned in Kornsjø on the Swedish border. At one point, several cabins were in danger of catching fire.

“This new snow has no name,” said Lars-Anders Kuhmunen, a reindeer herder from Kiruna, Sweden’s northernmost town, near the Norwegian border. “I don’t know what it is. It is like early tjaevi, which normally comes in March. The winters are warmer now and there is rain, making the ground icy. The snow on top is very bad snow and the reindeer can’t dig for their food.”

Train service between Hämeenlinna and Toijala was halted by a fallen tree, while some 13,000 households lost power.

Fredrik Dahlborg, manager of bus manufacturer VDL, told P4 Västerbotten that a combination of the weather and road salt is the problem. Despite this, Umeå municipality say they will keep using the electric buses.

The WWF and locals report sightings of 10-15 eagles at a time in western Finland.

The Finnish Coast Guard came to the rescue of a whale caught in a fish trap on Saturday in the narrow region of the Gulf of Bothnia known as Kvarken.