Finnish weather idioms: lightning, clouds and the wind

Finland has long dark winters and short bright summers, and the weather runs through its idioms. The images are the sky, the clouds and the wind. Each entry gives the literal translation first, then the meaning, the nearest English phrase and an example.

These expressions are everyday speech. Check the example sentences with a Finnish speaker before you use them in writing.

Quick reference

Salama kirkkaalta taivaalta

Literal: "Lightning from a clear sky."
Meaning: Something unexpected and sudden, usually bad news.
English equivalent: A bolt from the blue.
Example: Irtisanominen tuli kuin salama kirkkaalta taivaalta. (The dismissal came like a bolt from the blue.)

Olla pää pilvissä

Literal: "To have your head in the clouds."
Meaning: To be daydreaming or not paying attention. It is close to the Spanish estar en las nubes. The full form pää pilvissä is the one to use. Do not say olla pilvessä, which has a drug-use meaning.
English equivalent: To be miles away, to have your head in the clouds.
Example: Anteeksi, olin pää pilvissä enkä kuullut kysymystä. (Sorry, I was miles away and did not hear the question.)

Olla tuulen vietävänä

Literal: "To be carried by the wind."
Meaning: To drift along without making your own decisions, letting circumstances decide.
English equivalent: To go with the flow, to be at the mercy of events.
Example: Hän on ollut tuulen vietävänä koko kesän, eikä ole tehnyt päätöksiä. (He has drifted all summer and has not made any decisions.)

Olla myrskyn silmässä

Literal: "To be in the eye of the storm."
Meaning: To be at the centre of a difficult situation, such as a dispute or a crisis.
English equivalent: To be in the eye of the storm.
Example: Yhtiö oli myrskyn silmässä koko syksyn ajan. (The company was at the centre of the storm all autumn.)

Using these well

Keep the weather word. The image is what makes the idiom, so salama stays salama.
Mind the case. Kirkkaalta taivaalta is the ablative case: "from a clear sky". See the local cases for how -lta marks movement from a place.