Latest Swedish Headlines for Friday: A Recap of Today's News
Sweden experienced an unusual summer storm on July 3-4, 2025, with strong winds affecting many parts of the country throughout the afternoon and evening. The winds reached up to 25 meters per second in some areas, such as Tullinge in Stockholm County, which is enough to classify as storm force winds. This was an unusual occurrence for summer, as such strong winds typically occur only briefly and in connection with thunderstorms.
The persistent and intense low-pressure system causing the storm was accompanied by convective weather patterns more typical of summer thunderstorms but lasting longer than usual. Meteorologists from Sweden's SMHI explained that while it is typical to have stronger winds in winter due to large low-pressure systems moving across the region, summer winds are usually shorter and weaker. The long duration and strength of the winds this summer are unusual.
The storm caused significant damage and many emergency calls about fallen trees, with Stockholm receiving around 300 calls during the evening and into the night. In Tropikariet indoor zoo in Helsingborg, a lemur managed to escape into a ventilation duct behind a wall, but was found safely on Friday morning.
While the storm caused chaos in some areas, it had a positive impact on Sweden's energy prices. The high winds were good for hydro and wind power, leading to record-low energy prices in energy zones one and two (Norrland) and three. The average price for the first half of the year is 14 öre per kilowatt hour (kWh), the lowest figure since 2020. This marks the lowest energy prices in five years for Norrland.
However, energy prices in energy zone four (southern Sweden) were slightly higher, with an average of 66 öre per kWh for the first half of this year. While this is three öre higher than the first half of last year, it is roughly the same as the 2019-2023 average.
The increase in hotel room bookings in June was not just limited to larger cities, but was seen across Sweden as a whole. The city with the largest increase was Malmö, with a five percent increase in room prices according to new figures from industry organisation Visita. Stockholm and Gothenburg also saw an increase in bookings due to events and concerts taking place in June.
In conclusion, the unusually strong summer winds were due to a persistent and intense low-pressure system causing storm-force gusts, combined with convective weather patterns more typical of summer thunderstorms but lasting longer than usual. The storm caused damage and chaos in some areas, but had a positive impact on Sweden's energy prices. No direct link to climate change was established, as interpreting wind trends remains complex, but changing temperature dynamics can influence the intensity of convective storms that drive such winds.
- Meteorologists from Sweden's SMHI noted that while strong winds typically occur only briefly and in connection with summer thunderstorms, the long duration and strength of the winds on July 3-4, 2025, were unusual, as they were caused by a persistent and intense low-pressure system accompanied by convective weather patterns.
- The intense winds of the summer storm on July 3-4, 2025, were responsible for causing chaos in some areas, leading to significant damage and many emergency calls about fallen trees. However, the storm had a positive impact on Sweden's energy prices, particularly in energy zones one and two (Norrland) and three, where it led to record-low energy prices due to the high winds being good for hydro and wind power.
