Wind to Spoil Warm Weekend in Irkutsk

Temperatures in Irkutsk this weekend promise to be unusually high for the middle of winter. However, forecasters say it will be impossible to fully enjoy the warmth. The culprit is a cold wind blowing from Lake Baikal. The forecast was shared with an «IrCity» journalist by Yulia Yankova, head of the Irkutsk Hydrometeorological Center.

«The weather has been generous and promises us warmth. However, it will be short-lived because a new wave of cold is expected next week. But over the next three days—January 30 and 31, as well as February 1—we will have fairly high temperatures, which of course deviate from long-term average norms,» the source noted.

The upcoming night in Irkutsk will see temperatures from -21 to -23°C (-5.8 to -9.4°F), and daytime temperatures will range from -12 to -14°C (10.4 to 6.8°F). A southeasterly wind from Baikal will blow, which at this time of year brings not warmth but cold, as the lake is covered in ice. Wind gusts will reach 7-8 meters per second (16-18 mph), meaning Irkutsk residents will feel it very strongly.

«This prickly, cold Baikal wind will now blow here until mid-June,» Yulia Yankova added pessimistically.

On Saturday, January 31, Irkutsk can expect light snow and wind gusts of 6-8 meters per second (13-18 mph). The night will see lows of -15 to -17°C (5 to 1.4°F), while daytime highs will be around -6 to -8°C (21.2 to 17.6°F). On Sunday, February 1, it will be even warmer: down to -11 to -13°C (12.2 to 8.6°F) at night and -3 to -5°C (26.6 to 23°F) during the day. Only the wind will spoil this entire picture.

«The warmth came to us from the Atlantic. Air currents are shifting at a fairly decent speed, so the weather is changing quickly,» Yankova reported.

Across the Irkutsk region, it will remain frosty in the coming 24 hours, especially in the north: in the Kirensky, Katangsky, Bodaybinsky, and Mamsko-Chuysky districts, temperatures are expected to drop to -45°C (-49°F) overnight. Daytime temperatures will range from -30 to -35°C (-22 to -31°F). However, it will warm up even there by January 31. Across the region, lows of -25 to -30°C (-13 to -22°F) are expected, with daytime highs up to -15 to -19°C (5 to -2.2°F). On February 1, across the region, even nighttime temperatures are forecast to be up to -10 to -15°C (14 to 5°F), with some areas seeing -25 to -30°C (-13 to -22°F).

On Monday, February 2, the warmth will still linger, and light snow may even fall. After that, another wave of cold awaits.