On December 17, Minsk /Anna Katikova - BELTA/. Very cold weather is expected in Belarus this week, informed the chief meteorologist of the Republican Hydrometeorological Centre, Lyudmila Parashchuk, to a BELTA correspondent.
In the coming days, frosts will intensify over most of the country. A cold anticyclone over European Russia will extend its influence to Belarus. In the southwest of the country, weather conditions will be shaped by a slow-moving atmospheric front, Lyudmila Parashchuk said.
On Tuesday, December 18, Belarus will experience cloudy weather with clear spells. Snow is expected in the western half of the country, with blizzards in some areas. Ice will persist on separate sections of roads. The wind will be south-easterly at 6-11 metres per second, with gusts reaching 15-18 metres per second in some districts. Air temperature at night will range from minus 13 to 18 degrees Celsius; with clear spells in eastern Belarus, temperatures down to minus 20 are expected. During the day, the temperature will be minus 12-16 degrees Celsius; in the western regions of the republic, temperatures of minus 7-11 degrees are expected throughout the day.
On Wednesday, the weather will not change significantly, but the wind will gradually begin to weaken. Snow will fall intermittently in the western regions of the country, with blizzards in some places, and ice will persist on separate sections of roads. Air temperature at night will be minus 10-13 degrees Celsius; in the northeast of the country, the thermometer will drop to minus 18-22 degrees. During the day, minus 10 to 15 degrees Celsius are expected; in the southwestern regions of Belarus, it will be slightly warmer – minus 6-9 degrees.
On December 20, weather conditions will remain the same. Snow will fall in the western part of the country, while the east will be under the influence of a high-pressure area of a cold anticyclone. Air temperature at night will range from minus 10 to 17 degrees Celsius, with frosts down to minus 18-22 degrees in the eastern regions of the country. During the day, minus 10-15 degrees Celsius are expected; in the western regions, temperatures of minus 7-9 degrees will persist throughout the day. "This temperature background will be 7-12 degrees colder than usual for these dates in December," noted Lyudmila Parashchuk.
On Friday, brief snow and light blizzards are expected in some parts of Belarus, with ice on separate sections of roads. At night, air temperature will be minus 10-17 degrees Celsius, with frosts down to minus 18-20 degrees during clear spells. During the day, minus 8 to 15 degrees Celsius are expected.
According to Lyudmila Parashchuk, over the upcoming weekend, December 22 and 23, cold air masses will continue to arrive from Ukraine, but they will be more humid. Therefore, short-term snow is expected across most of Belarus, with blizzards in some areas and icy conditions persisting on certain stretches of roads. Air temperature will fluctuate between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius below zero during the day, dropping to minus 20 degrees Celsius at night with clear spells.
"The expected snowfall will not significantly affect the snow cover depth. According to the latest data, snow depth ranges from 15 cm to 25 cm, with snowdrifts reaching 30-35 cm in some parts of the Gomel region and 24 cm in Minsk. Only in the Brest and Grodno regions, where the snow was accompanied by strong gusty winds, is the snow depth minimal, just 6-8 cm," said the chief meteorologist. She also noted that such deep snow will better protect winter crops.
As reported by Lyudmila Parashchuk, despite these low temperatures, Belarus is still far from its absolute minimums. According to her, the lowest temperature recorded in December is minus 38.6 degrees Celsius, registered on December 31, 1978, at the Yezerishche weather station in the Horadok district of the Vitebsk region. In Minsk, the absolute minimum was observed on December 29, 1930, when the thermometer recorded minus 30.6 degrees Celsius.
-0-
BELTA