Not spring, but a paradox: The Hydrometeorological Center reported weather anomalies in March across many regions of Russia.
The Hydrometeorological Center reported abnormal weather in March across many regions of Russia.
Photo: Svetlana MAKOVEEVA. Go to the Photo Bank of KP
Spring 2025 in Russia has begun in a paradoxical manner. In the northern part of the country—specifically in the far north, beyond the Arctic Circle—an uncharacteristically warm spell for these areas has set in during the last days of winter and the first days of March. Meanwhile, in the south, along the Black Sea and the North Caucasus, extreme cold and even temperatures dropping to -30 degrees Celsius are being experienced!
WEATHER UPSIDE DOWN
- There are many unusual phenomena across the country, - stated Roman Vilfand, the scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, during a broadcast on Radio Kommersant. - Spring is starting from the north: in the regions of Karelia, Murmansk, Leningrad, Pskov, Novgorod, and even in Arkhangelsk and the Republic of Komi, positive temperatures have been recorded since the end of February (in the coming days, March 3-4, temperatures will be +1 in Arkhangelsk, +2 in Karelia, +3 in St. Petersburg, and +5 in Pskov. - Ed.). However, in the south, in the Krasnodar Territory and Stavropol, the cold is intense, with temperatures 8-10 degrees below normal. Very cold weather persists in Ingushetia and Chechnya, in Stavropol, and in Krasnodar. The situation is similar in Crimea. The same applies to Kalmykia, Astrakhan, and Volgograd regions. This is the paradox.
- On the North Caucasus, record low temperatures were recorded on the first day of spring, - says Tatyana Pozdnyakova, the chief specialist of the Moscow meteorological bureau. - In Stavropol, the temperature dropped to -16.7 degrees, in Budyonnovsk to -20.8 (the previous record had stood since 1928), and in Mineralnye Vody to -21.3 degrees. Abnormal cold has also affected Dagestan and Chechnya: in Grozny, it was -16.2 degrees, which is also a record. Only by mid-next week will the frosts in the North Caucasus begin to subside.
ABNORMALLY WARM MARCH IN MOSCOW, ST. PETERSBURG, AND THE NORTH
Paradoxes at the intersection of seasons are expected to become a trend throughout March 2025, according to the forecast from the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia.
The first month of spring will be abnormally warm in the Northwestern Federal District and the northern half of the Central Federal District.
Moreover, the further north one goes, the more pronounced the warm anomaly will be! In the Kola Peninsula, Arkhangelsk region, Karelia, as well as in St. Petersburg and Leningrad region, the March temperatures are expected to be 2 degrees above climatic norms.
In the Kaliningrad region, Smolensk, Novgorod, Pskov, Vologda, Tver regions, the Republic of Komi, and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, March will be 1 degree warmer than usual.
A mild March is also anticipated for Moscow and the Moscow region. According to calculations from the Hydrometeorological Center, the average temperature for the month will exceed the norm by about 1 degree. However, some forecasts suggest even more pleasant anomalies—weather that could be 2 or even 4 degrees warmer than usual at the start of spring.
COLD IN THE SOUTH AND EAST
An exceptionally cold March awaits residents of the southern regions of Russia, warns the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia. In the Astrakhan region, Kalmykia, Krasnodar Territory, and throughout the North Caucasian Federal District, the first month of spring will be 1 degree colder than the climatic norm.
Another cold snap in March is expected in the far northeast of the country, in Chukotka and the Magadan region, where the average temperature will also be 1 degree below normal.
SOME SNOW, SOME RAIN
Excess precipitation is anticipated in March in the Murmansk region and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug—most likely in the form of snow, as this pertains to the Polar region. Even an abnormally warm March here will still be considered a winter month from a weather perspective.
A notably high amount of snow and rain is also expected in most regions of Siberia. In the Far East, more precipitation than usual should be anticipated in the Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, on Sakhalin, and in the eastern part of the Amur region.
WHERE TO EXPECT A DRY MARCH
The Hydrometeorological Center promises a deficit of precipitation in Baikal—both in the Irkutsk region and in Buryatia, as well as in Kamchatka and Chukotka.