TALLINN - Estonia's glorious summer and enduring warm autumn were brought to a crashing end when wild weather struck, delivering howling winds and flurries of snow.
A Finnish fishing vessel sank in Estonian waters during the week of storms, which saw ferry crossings and flights cancelled.
The winds, which reached 25 meters per second on Oct. 26, brought down trees and severed power connections to thousands of homes.
Operators of small ferries were forced to cancel their voyages to Helsinki on Oct. 27, and larger ferries delayed their journeys by several hours.
One ferry which made the crossing, the Eckero Line ship Nordlandia, was damaged when it struck the wharf at the Port of Tallinn on Oct. 28, tearing a hole in the hull above the waterline.
The ship was taken out of operation for repairs, and its 2,000 customers had to be put up in accommodation overnight as alternative travel arrangements were made.
Earlier in the week, the Finnish fishing vessel Borka sank 35 kilometers off the island of Hiiumaa in heavy winds. The crew of four were rescued from their lifeboat by a nearby ship which attended to the distress call at about 11 p.m. on Oct 26.
The windstorm was followed by Estonia's first snowfall of the season. Towns in north-east Estonia received several centimeters of snow, which soon dissipated in rain on Oct. 29. In the capital, light snow was followed by heavy rain, reminding citizens that the dreary winter season had arrived.
