poetic weather on the Baltic Sea

I'm not really interested in the weather forecast (why spoil the surprise?). But I partake of it sometimes, purely for its lyrical qualities.

I mean, "an Arctic blizzard with strong winds and six inches of snow", although not enjoyable in real life, sounds very poetic.

I also browse the website of the Finnish Meteorological Institute on occasion. It has links to beautifully named stuff such as the "Finnish Wind Atlas" and "Auroras Now". The funniest thing about the otherwise very professional-looking English version of this site is that it mistranslates the name of my part of the Baltic Sea, Kvarken, to  "the Quark".  I have heard that quarks are very difficult to observe, so here is a picture of not only a quark, but the Quark:

The warranted, genuine Quark

But the best part about the weather forecast is the report from the marine weather observation stations, listed every day on the radio. I don't really care what it actually says, but the list of stations is so evocative: Kalbådagrund, Makilo, Bågaskär, Utö, Kylmäpihlaja, Strömmingsbådan, Tankar, Ajos...

It awakens in me memories of waves crashing against lonely lighthouses, of seagulls and the crystal blueness of the sea in summer, and of the crisp saltiness in the air as I sit on the beach and stare out at my very own Quark.