season winter to hit smoother Stockholm

According to the latest forecast from the Swedish weather agency (SMHI) snow will hit Umeå in the north of the country along with Mora and Östersund in central Sweden on Thursday. 

Residents living in the capital can expect sleet and possible wet snow on Friday as a result of chilly winds blowing down from the north of the country. 

IN PICTURES: Stunning snaps from when snow first hit Stockholm last year

"No snow has fallen in Stockholm yet and this will be the first of the season," said meteorologist Lisa Frost to the Svenska Dagbladet (SvD) newspaper.

The snow is arriving about a month earlier than normal but weather experts said there is no correlation between an early snowfall and a particularly harsh winter. 

It's unlikely that the snow will stick with temperatures returning to above zero after the early flakes, with the exception of Kiruna at the northern tip of the country. 

"One should still keep in mind that there will be sleet passing by during Friday. For the first snow people aren't always properly prepared so you obviously need to be careful in out on the roads." 

SEE ALSO: Read the weather forecast for your corner of Sweden

"It is not so much that the snow sticks but that in some localities there is a risk of slippery conditions," added Frost. 

The weather is better down south with Malmö enjoying temperatures of 12C for most of the week with Gothenburg on the west coast just a degree lower. 

Stockholmers will enjoy a peak of 12C early in the week before the mercury sinks to single digits ahead of the snow's arrival on Friday. 

It's quite a contrast to last week's Indian summer's day when parts of the country were bathing in sunshine approaching 20C. Meteorologists said at the time that winter usually arrives properly between October 19th and November 1st. 

The lokal