A thick cloud cover blankets all of Sweden, with almost no chance of sun over the weekend. The weather will remain cloudy into the early part of the week, according to meteorologists. A change with some sun is expected only next Thursday.
Sweden has been marked by gray, cloudy weather in early December, and the cloud cover shows no signs of lifting over the weekend. SMHI meteorologist Emma Härenstam explains that a low-pressure system over the Atlantic combined with southerly winds creates the humid and mild air leading to the cloudy conditions. "Just now it's humid and mild air. That makes for cloudy weather. And it will stay that way through the week," she tells Expressen.
SVT meteorologist Marcus Sjöstedt describes the weather maps as the gloomiest in a long time: "There are almost no suns on our weather maps at all. The saddest weather maps I've seen in a long time." Härenstam confirms the cloudy weather will persist into next week, with no signs of clearing early on. "No, it will be cloudy weather now in the beginning of the week. I don't see anywhere it will break up," she adds.
Temperatures are also unusually high, especially in the southern parts of the country, and remain well above seasonal norms during the first half of the week. In the north, sub-zero temperatures prevail overall.
An improvement is on the horizon, however. From Thursday next week, the cloud cover may start to thin, with some sun intermittently into the weekend. With the sun comes cooler temperatures: in areas with above-freezing conditions around the clock, it could drop toward zero at night.