Water situation 13.12.

Water levels mainly declining, precipitation during the weekend may raise water levels in rivers on the southwest coast

Water levels in rivers have mainly declined to levels typical of the season. The weather will become milder by Saturday, and fairly heavy snowfall has been forecast for the weekend. The snow may partly turn into water, especially on the southern and southwest coasts. If most of the precipitation is snow, it will hardly affect water levels in rivers. On the other hand, if rainfall occurs, the water levels in rivers may rise more. The water levels are still not expected to reach flood levels.

On Sunday, the weather will get colder temporarily, which may cause frazil ice to form in rivers. Still, the weather will already be milder on Monday, which will reduce the risk of frazil ice. The next snowfall area arriving on Monday may partly turn into water on the southwest coast, which means that water levels in rivers may still rise slightly in places.

In Satakunta, the water levels of lakes and rivers are declining but still high in places after the flood at the end of November. The water levels of large regulated lakes in the Kokemäenjoki river system have been lowered close to the normal seasonal readings by keeping the flow regulation of River Kokemäenjoki high after the flood at the end of November. The flow regulation has already been significantly reduced.

In North Karelia and Southeast Finland, the water levels of lakes are still lower than usual due to low precipitation and warm summer and autumn, whereas in Southern and Western Finland, the water levels of lakes have also risen higher than average in many places due to rainfall and snow melting at the end of November.