Yakutia faces anomalous warmth and snow this weekend

Despite the height of January, the weather in Yakutia has been unusually mild for the second week in a row. Air temperatures over the weekend will again be significantly above the climatic norm, as reported by 14.RU meteorologist Sargylana Nikitina of the Yakutsk Hydrometeorological Service.

«For comparison, according to the climatic norm for this period, it should be minus 45 degrees Celsius (–49°F) at night in Yakutsk, and minus 36–38 degrees Celsius (–33…–36°F) during the day. But as we can see, we have had warm weather for the second week now. And it will continue in Yakutsk for now. This is an anomalous phenomenon; the weather is spoiling us,» said Sargylana Nikitina.

Saturday, the first day off of the week, will delight residents of Yakutsk with sunshine, although light snow is expected at night. The thermometer will drop to –32…–34 °C (–26…–29°F), and during the day, the air will warm up to a comfortable –28…–31 °C (–18…–24°F). The wind will be westerly at 1–6 meters per second.

On Sunday and Monday, Yakutsk will be covered by clouds, with light snow expected. Nighttime temperatures will be around –34…–36 °C (–29…–33°F), and daytime temperatures –28…–31 °C (–18…–24°F).

«On Saturday, in the Kolyma-Indigirka district and Batagay, there will be light snow with gusty winds. And from Sunday to Monday, a cyclone from Chukotka will move across northeastern Yakutia to the Bulunsky district. Therefore, we expect light to moderate snow, gusty winds up to 9–14 meters per second, and a temperature increase of 5–10 °C (9–18°F),» Nikitina said.

The epicenter of the Chukotka cyclone will be in the Nizhnekolymsky district. It is there that on Sunday and Monday, almost «spring-like» temperatures are expected — only –10…–15 °C (14…5°F). In the central districts of Yakutia, there will also be temperature swings, but no significant cooling or sharp warming is anticipated; warm weather above the norm by 4–7 degrees Celsius will persist.