Winter temperatures reached their lowest level this winter when the mercury dropped to 37.7 degrees below freezing in Kevojärvi in Utsjoki on Sunday morning, Uutiset reports.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute, FMI, said that later on Sunday morning, the cold dug in a bit deeper as temperatures slipped down to 37.9 degrees below.

The temperature in Finland’s northernmost municipality had been inching downwards overnight, as tabloid daily Iltalehti reported a record of minus 37.5 degrees during Saturday night.

There has been a yawning gap in the overall temperature difference across Finland this weekend, with mild conditions holding sway in the south even as the north finds itself in a wintry grip. Overnight temperatures on the south coast hovered around five degrees above zero compared to Utsjoki's -37-degree deep freeze.

The temperature variations come as Finland experiences its mildest winter in 100 years, while average temperatures in January have so far been up to 10 degrees warmer than usual.