STOCKHOLM — For some reason, Scandinavia is not its frigid self, with unusually warm weather delaying the onset of winter in northern latitudes normally decked in white.
The lack of snow has been bad news for winter sports — World Cup ski races have been dropped or held on artificial snow, and mountain ski resorts are unable to open.
There are even reports of blooming gardens in some places typically entering the winter freeze at this time of year.
“Some flowers, like roses, have actually begun to blossom for a second time,” said Mats Rosenberg, a biologist in Orebro, south-central Sweden.
Weather experts say this fall is on track to be one of the warmest on record in the northern part of Scandinavia, where the start of winter has been delayed by more than a month in certain locations.
In the Finnish town of Sodankyla, 80 miles north of the Arctic Circle, snow cover started Nov. 17, the latest date in 100 years, said Pauli Jokinen, spokesman at the Finnish Meteorological Institute. According to Sweden’s meteorological office SMHI, the average temperature measured for November so far is 12.6 degrees Fahrenheit above average.
