A radar sees the weather phenomena to a distance of 250 km in the Finnish climate. Therefore a network of several radars is needed to cover bigger land areas. The coverage depends on the weather conditions. Summer rain is seen to a distance of 250 km and more (outer line in the figure), and winterly snowfall to a distance of 120 km (circles in the figure).

The FMI Radar Network

• 12 dual-polarization  C-Band Doppler radars

• Fully automated network

• Design, planning, maintenance and operation by FMI

• Data availability annually > 98%

1. Korppoo / Parainen Rumar

2. Vihti Ylimmäinen

3. Anjalankoski / Kouvola Kaipiainen

4. Kankaanpää / Kankaanpää Ylisenharju

5. Kesälahti / Kitee Kesälahti

6. Petäjävesi / Petäjävesi Kintaus

7. Kuopio / Kuopio Rytky

8. Vimpeli / Vimpeli Lakeaharju

9. Nurmes / Nurmes Mujejärvi Riihivaara

10. Utajärvi / Utajärvi Korkiakangas

11. Luosto / Sodankylä Luosto

12. Inari / Saariselkä Kaunispää (in use in autumn 2024)

Technical details of FMI radars

• Antenna diameter:  4.5 m

• Radome: 6.7 m

• Antenna beam width: 0.95 degrees

• Dual-pol radars: Vaisala HW & SW

• Transmitter: magnetron

• Frequency: 5600-5650 MHz

• Wave length: 5.3 cm

• Pulse peak power: 250 kW

• Average power: 300 W