After nearly two months of anomalous warmth
kept the region uncharacteristically devoid of snow cover, timely snowfall
accompanied the arrival of late-week bitter cold.
In Ukraine, the snow was sufficient (2-10 cm)
to prevent widespread winterkill, as night-time lows plunged as low as -26°C at
week’s end; however, there may have been some localized burnback where snow
cover was shallow (less than 2 cm).
Heavier snow (10-25 cm, locally more) in
southern Russia afforded dormant winter grains abundant insulation from
readings as low as -22°C.
Despite the ongoing arctic blast, the overall
impacts - if any - of the severe cold will remain minor as long as the snowpack
remains intact.
*Picture central Russia yesterday