MAIN WEATHER AND CLIMATE TRAITS IN THE NORTHEN HEMISPHERE AS OF DECEMBER 2019
Air Temperature
All through December, abnormal warmth prevailed in the European territory of Russia. The average air temperatures in any decade exceeded the normal values by 3-7° or more. The unprecedented temperature maxima were recorded everywhere from the Barents Sea to the North Caucasus and Crimea, and ultimately, the monthly-averaged air temperatures from the western border to West Siberia turned out to be much higher than usual, e.g., by 8° and more in the Arkhangelsk Region. In the Central Federal District, this December became the second warmest in the history of meteorological observations: the weather was even warmer in 2006 only. Likewise, this month entered the Top Ten of warmest in the North-West, Volga and South Federal Districts.
East of the Urals, the weather was also warmer than usual, albeit that in the first half of the month only. In the first decade and at the beginning of the second one, the daily temperature maxima were recorded in Western Siberia. But later on, the eastern regions of the country were overwhelmed by bitter Arctic colds. Frosts down to -52° were observed in Yakutia, and down to -45° in the Irkutsk Region and in the Trans-Baikal. In South Siberia, new temperature minima were reached in the Kemerovo Region. The entire territory of Siberia and of the Far East was under the spell of cold. The anomalies of decade-averaged temperature were -2…-8° or larger, so that this December turned out to be generally colder than usual in the east of Siberia, in Yakutia, Trans-Baikal, Amur River Region and Primorye. Only the Far North-East of the country, notably, the Chukotka Autonomous District, succeeded in retaining the heat accumulated at the beginning of the month in spite of the cold in the third decade; there, the monthly-averaged air temperature was above its normal value.
MAIN WEATHER AND CLIMATE TRAITS IN THE NORTHEN HEMISPHERE AS OF NOVEMBER 2019
Air Temperature
At the beginning of November, warm Atlantic breath was still perceived in the central, eastern and southern ETR regions. In the first decade, the temperature maxima were often surpassed in many locations of the central areas, Volga District, Rostov Region, Kuban and Crimea. The decade-averaged temperatures exceeded the normal values by 3-6° or even more: the farther to the south, the larger the anomalies. There and than, the weather was cold in the Russian North only (with the anomalies of -1…-2°).
In the second decade, abnormal heat spread around to invade almost the entire European territory of the country save its near-polar regions, and the record-breaking heat was then observed not only in the Central and the Southern Russia, but also in the north-west of Karelia, in the Leningrad Region and in the Pskov Region as well.
At the beginning of the third decade, the weather suddenly changed its mood and became much colder in the centre of Russia. There, the Arctic air brought night frosts as cold as -8…-12° resulting in sub-normal decade-averaged air temperatures. Conversely, the north of the ETR received abnormal heat, and the air temperature in the third decade exceeded its normal value by 2-6° or more.