MAIN WEATHER AND CLIMATE TRAITS IN THE NORTHEN HEMISPHERE AS OF FEBRUARY 2019
Air Temperature
In Russia, sharp temperature contrasts were observed in the first decade of February. Indeed, the anomalies of decade-averaged temperatures as high as +6…8° in the ETR and the daily temperatures reaching their new maxima in the south of the Krasnodar Territory or in Crimea were accompanied with the record-breaking colds beyond the Urals, in all Siberia and in the south of the Far East: down to -45° or below in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk Region and Trans-Baikal, and down to -40° or below in the south of West Siberia, in the Khabarovsk and Primorye Territories, as well as in the Amur Region and Sakhalin.
Everything changed in the beginning of the second decade. The warmth unprecedented for this time of year arrived in Siberia. Of course, the thermometer readings were still below zero as a rule, but the decade-averaged air temperature exceeded its normal value by as much as 8-15° even to end up with thaws in the Trans-Baikal. At the same time, the weather remained exceptionally warm in the European Territory and in Chukotka. (The anomalies of decade-averaged temperatures of up to +6-8° in the central and north-west ETR and up to +8-11° in Chukotka were recorded along with the new temperature maxima in Saint-Petersburg, Kaliningrad and in the Pskov, Smolensk and Ryazan Regions.) The only areas to change warmth for cold were the eastern areas of Yakutia with the temperatures below -50°, and the Magadan Region. (The anomalies of decade-averaged temperatures were about -3…-5°).
MAIN WEATHER AND CLIMATE TRAITS IN THE NORTHEN HEMISPHERE AS OF JANUARY 2019
Air Temperature
The only regions where the monthly-averaged air temperature was less than normal were Chukotka and, partially, North Yakutia. The climate was abnormally warm in the rest of the country. The normal value was exceeded by +2…4° in the European part and by +4-6° in Asia. Yet, the latter does not mean that it remained so during all January.
In the first decade of January, an increased average temperature was observed in the North and South of the ETR and in most parts of Siberia and Far East (with the anomalies of decade-averaged temperatures reaching +4…8°). In the meantime, the temperature in the Central Region, South Urals and South Siberia was close to normal, or even somewhat less than that in some places.
In the second decade, warmth pervaded almost all the territory of Russia excluding its North East. The daily maxima were recorded in the Upper Volga Region, Trans-Baikal, Evenkiya, Amur Region and Kamchatka. The warmth anomalies in this decade were in excess of +4-8°. Yakutia, Kolyma and Chukotka were the only regions where the weather was noticeably colder than usual (with -2…-4° anomalies). In Yakutia, the temperatures dropped below -50°.
In the third decade, the warm weather only survived in the South of the ETR, Southern Siberia and the South of the Far East (the anomalies of decade-averaged temperatures being +4…10°), whereas the rest of the country was flooded with cold air, and the temperature became normal or even 2-6° below it in the North. In this decade, the coldest temperatures reached -30° in Central Russia and -40° in the Russian North, with the temperature minima recorded in the North of West Siberia and severe colds down to -55° observed in Yakutia. But at the same time, exceptionally warm weather came to the Trans-Baikal, Omsk and Irkutsk regions, to the South of the Khabarovsk Territory, to the Primorye, to the Northern Caucasus and to Crimea.
The monthly-averaged temperature in all Federal districts reached neither extreme positive values nor extreme negative ones. Quite habitually already, this January turned out to be anomalously warm. This occurred for the fifth year in succession; all in all, only four Januaries in the XXI century have featured the monthly-averaged temperatures below their normal values.