Weather Due to a snowstorm in the afternoon, there is a red warning for traffic for the first time – “I’m not saying if there are accidents, but when”

Valtteri snowstorm is expected to strike the metropolitan area in full force in the evening.

Snowfall is coming to the west coast, but Saturday morning is probably still calm.

The snowstorm in Uusimaa starts slowly in the early afternoon, but at its thickest it is in the evening and at night. In some places, snow is estimated to rain 30 cents or more during Saturday and Sunday.

“I’m not saying if there will be accidents but when. It is clear that they are happening in road transport. Similarly, power outages can occur on a large scale, ”thinks the on-duty meteorologist Eveliina Tuovinen From the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

“It’s expected to gradually start happening here. The weather in Uusimaa in the evening is very dangerous if people do not heed the warnings in their shops, ”says Tuovinen.

This is the first time the Finnish Meteorological Institute has warned of an extremely bad driving condition with a red warning sign. Admittedly, this is explained by the fact that such a three-level warning system has only been in place for a few years. The warning is valid in Uusimaa from three in the afternoon to midnight.

The greatest risk of an accident is posed by a huge amount of snow, although of course the dusting snow also affects visibility. The wind speed is estimated to be gusts of 20 meters per second.

“It’s definitely not worth going on a futile ride. If you have to think, it is important to observe the safety intervals or else you will suddenly find yourself in the playground, ”says Tuovinen.

In the Helsinki metropolitan area, Pyry is not expected to relax a bit until Sunday morning. After a short respite, it starts to snow again at noon on Sunday.

“There’s a lot of snow work to be done on Sunday morning, but the contract doesn’t end there yet. In the afternoon, there will be another ten cents of snow, so there will probably still be enough work to do on Monday, ”Tuovinen throws.

During the weekend, HS will closely monitor both the preparation for and survival of Valtter’s destruction.

Also rescue services urge you to forget about driving if you are not forced to drive. For example, the Central Uusimaa Rescue Department reminded on Friday night that the warning map is rarely red, but now the risk of an accident is estimated to be considerable.

In Western Uusimaa, they are advised to schedule outdoor activities in the morning and look for wool socks. The rescue service raises a warning about traffic weather, but also the possibility of power outages.

Snow plows are ready.

The city of Helsinki announced on Friday night that both the city’s own Stara and four private contractors are waiting for Valtter.

The maximum number of snow jobs in Helsinki is about 300 units: trucks, multi-purpose machines, wheel loaders, maintenance and environmental care machines, as well as tractors and graders.

When the storm is at its worst, this aura army will first focus on the main streets and routes important for public transport, as Helsinki’s road and street network is a total of 1,200 kilometers long and there are about 2,500 kilometers of cycle and walking paths on it.

The city warned as early as Friday that a plow may have to wait on the residential streets. On Asuntokatu, Helsinki’s promise is that the plow should have been in operation three working days after Pyry’s end. Walking and biking trails have their own priorities. Most of them are now also the responsibility of the city, but some are the responsibility of property owners.

It was also reported from Vantaa on Friday night that the entire plowing equipment will be running through the weekend. That means about a hundred workers and planers, plows, salt and sand trucks, and trucks to transport snow. Approximately half are on Vantaa’s own payroll directly and half are employed by private contractors.

Vantaa anticipates that there will be so much snow that it will have to be temporarily piled up in markets and parking areas. It can take up to weeks to transport all the snow mass out of the way.