If you’re a Swede or have even been to Sweden, you know exactly how preoccupied Swedes are with weather.

“What’s the weather like?” must be one of the most asked questions. And it’s a safe question, too, one that seemingly reticent Swedes feel free to ask even perfect strangers. So what IS the weather like? Well, not so good. July in Sweden turned out to be a “typical Swedish summer”, i.e. it was washed away in rain, quite cold, and with few glimpses of sunshine. Sweden received more than its normal share of rain throughout the entire month. Except from one day – July 26 – there was thunder somewhere in the country every single day during July. In the beginning of the month, there were some heavy floods in eastern Småland, where it rained more than normal even if it weren’t record volumes of rain, according to SMHI (Sveriges Meteorologiska och Hydrologiska Institut – Sweden’s Meteorological and Hydrological Institute). And several places in northern Sweden experienced the coldest month of July since 1995 or 1996, with frost building up during the night.

On July 22, Haparanda in the north measured 2.2 C (36 F), which is the coldest that locality has measured in 150 years. Recent days have been better however, but meteorologists warn people not to put their umbrellas aside. “As it looks now, the unsteady weather continues. Daily temperatures are getting closer to 20 C (68F), but there won’t be much more than that during the coming week,” says meteorologist Emil Björck.