Utö (Finland)
Utö (Finland Swedish: [ˈutøː]) is a small island in the Archipelago Sea in the Baltic sea and belongs to Finland's Pargas municipality. It is the southernmost year-round inhabited island in Finland. Utö has an area of 0.81 square kilometres (0.31 square miles) and the population was c. 40 (as of 2005).
Name
The name of the island, Utö, means "outer island" in Swedish.
Description
The island has a lighthouse, pilot station, a small guest harbour, a shop and a post office. The island is also known from the marine weather observations that began in 1881.[1] Due to the remoteness of the island, the island has its own local school. In former times, the Finnish Defence Forces kept a small station on the island, but left the island in 2005. The island is also known as the first rescue station of the Estonia disaster in September 1994, and also helped rescue the survivors of the SS Park Victory sinking.
Climate
The annual average temperature at Utö is 6.5 °C (43.7 °F) and annual precipitation 549 mm (21.61 inches) (1981-2010). Average snow-covered period last from 23 January to 15 March.[2] The open sea areas around Utö are covered by ice only approximately every five years.[3]
Utö has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with cold to mild summers and moderately cold, very long winters that last longer than nearby southern mainland Finland because of seasonal lag caused by the Baltic Sea.
| Climate data for Utö (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) |
6.3 (43.3) |
7.9 (46.2) |
13.1 (55.6) |
21.1 (70.0) |
25.8 (78.4) |
26.9 (80.4) |
27.1 (80.8) |
22.1 (71.8) |
17.0 (62.6) |
11.7 (53.1) |
9.1 (48.4) |
27.1 (80.8) |
| Average high °C (°F) | 0.9 (33.6) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
1.1 (34.0) |
4.8 (40.6) |
10.0 (50.0) |
14.9 (58.8) |
19.0 (66.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
14.4 (57.9) |
9.6 (49.3) |
5.4 (41.7) |
2.8 (37.0) |
8.4 (47.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −0.9 (30.4) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
2.7 (36.9) |
7.4 (45.3) |
12.5 (54.5) |
16.7 (62.1) |
16.6 (61.9) |
12.6 (54.7) |
8.2 (46.8) |
3.9 (39.0) |
1.2 (34.2) |
6.5 (43.7) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −2.6 (27.3) |
−3.9 (25.0) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
0.9 (33.6) |
5.5 (41.9) |
10.6 (51.1) |
15.0 (59.0) |
15.0 (59.0) |
11.2 (52.2) |
6.8 (44.2) |
2.4 (36.3) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
4.9 (40.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −31.3 (−24.3) |
−24.2 (−11.6) |
−19.2 (−2.6) |
−9.2 (15.4) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
3.8 (38.8) |
8.4 (47.1) |
7.5 (45.5) |
2.2 (36.0) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−9.9 (14.2) |
−14.1 (6.6) |
−31.3 (−24.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 44 (1.7) |
31 (1.2) |
33 (1.3) |
26 (1.0) |
28 (1.1) |
41 (1.6) |
49 (1.9) |
59 (2.3) |
55 (2.2) |
65 (2.6) |
63 (2.5) |
55 (2.2) |
549 (21.6) |
| Average precipitation days | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 101 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 85 | 86 | 86 | 83 | 81 | 82 | 81 | 81 | 80 | 81 | 84 | 84 | 83 |
| Source: Finnish Meteorological Institute[4] | |||||||||||||
See also
References
- "Utö Atmospheric and Marine Research Station: Observations". Finnish Meteorological Institute. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- "Utö Climate statistics". Finnish Meteorological Institute. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
- Seinä, A, and Peltola, J. (1991). Jäätalven kestoaika ja kiintojään paksuustilastoja merialueilla 1961-1990 / Duration of the ice season and statistics of fast ice thickness along the Finnish coast 1961-1990. Finnish Institute for Marine Research: Finnish Marine Research 258.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
- "Climate data for Finnish locations" (PDF). FMI. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
External links
Media related to Utö, Finland at Wikimedia Commons
- Utö Island Website (in Swedish, Finnish, and English)
- Utö Atmospheric and Marine Research Station