Why is it cold and snowing in May 2024?

Usually in May, Russian residents wear T-shirts and enjoy the warm weather. But in 2024, nature gave us an unpleasant surprise: almost the entire country is cold and snowing at times. For example, during the May holidays in Moscow there was snowfall, the intensity of which could be compared to a winter blizzard. It's so cold in Kazan that river passenger flights have been canceled due to a possible storm on the Volga. It’s impossible to walk around in light clothes, so people had to take out sweaters and hats already hidden in the closet. In some cities, the heating has been turned off, and people are forced to escape the cold even at home. There hasn’t been such bad weather in May for a long time, so the question arises: why did it suddenly become so cold in Russia? Meteorologists have an explanation for this.

Why is it cold and snowing in May 2024? May 2024 surprised the residents of Russia with sudden snow. Photo.

May 2024 surprised the residents of Russia with sudden snow

May colds in Russia in 2024

Tatyana Pozdnyakova, chief specialist of the Moscow Meteorological Bureau, spoke about the cause of the May colds in 2024. According to her, cold weather hit Russia from two sides at once. First of all, the sub-zero temperature came from the north, from the Arctic. Secondly, cold streams descended from above, from the stratosphere.

The cold was drawn into Russia by a powerful cyclone – a large rotating vortex in the atmosphere. From space, it is visible to the ISS crew in the form of a white spiral, and we can understand that we are in the cyclone area by cloudy weather, frequent rains and strong winds. Cyclones may be warm, but in the late spring of 2024, Russians found themselves caught in a cold storm.

May cold in Russia in 2024. This is what cyclones look like from space. Image source: fishki.net. Photo.

This is what cyclones look like from space. Image source: fishki.net

The weather that is predicted in Russian regions in the first ten days of May is not typical for this time of year, but for the beginning of April. The current actual temperature lags behind its climatic development by more than a month, explained Roman Vilfand, scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center.

The cold weather began when one cyclone came from the Baltic and stayed over the Komi Republic for some time. Then another atmospheric vortex merged with it, increasing its power. A huge spiral captures the cold from the north, and this ice flow penetrates very deeply, right up to the southern regions of Russia.

The cyclone has not only grown in breadth, but also reached great heights. Meteorologists believe it reaches the stratosphere, a layer of the earth's atmosphere that begins at an altitude of 10 kilometers above sea level and continues to an altitude of about 50 kilometers. That is, the cyclone rose higher than the flight area of ​​the aircraft. It is always very cold in the stratosphere, and this ice stream is now descending to us.

Ultimately, it turns out that in May 2024, the residents of Russia are doubly unlucky, because cold currents are blowing us from all sides.

Right now you may be cold.Be sure to read our article “How to warm an apartment after turning off the heating?”

When it gets warmer in Russia

Typically, weather forecasters consider the beginning of summer to be the period when the average daily air temperature rises above 1 degree Celsius. According to Mikhail Leus, a specialist at the Phobos Weather Center, summer in 2024 will arrive at the usual time, approximately in the last five days of May.

Forecaster of the METEO forecast center Alexander Ilyin said that by the end of the month the temperature will be in Moscow it will no longer drop below -10 degrees. However, the weather will be unstable, and people will walk either in relatively cold weather or in warm weather, already reminiscent of summer.

When it gets warmer in Russia. Summer in 2024 will come right on time. Photo source: mosobl.kp.ru. Photo.

Summer 2024 will arrive right on time. Photo source: mosobl.kp.ru

As for the weather in Russia in general, the head of the METEO forecast center, Alexander Shuvalov, said that serious warming should not be expected before May 20–25. Around this time, the cyclone will go away, and one can hope for truly May and then June weather.

Read also: Climatologists are afraid of 2024 – the heat will reach a new level

What will the weather be like in the summer of 2024

Now residents of Russia are trying to escape the cold. After some time, exactly the opposite problem may arise – you will have to look for shelter from the heat. According to Izvestia, summer in 2024 may become the hottest on record. Forecasters say that already in June the air temperature in Russian cities will be 7 degrees above normal. For example, 35-degree heat is expected in Moscow. My colleague Andrei Zhukov spoke about the same forecasts a little earlier.

What will the weather be like in the summer of 2024. The summer of 2024 may break new temperature records. Photo source: chel.mk.ru. Photo.

The summer of 2024 may break new temperature records. Photo source: chel.mk.ru

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The summer heat is coming soon, and you need to be prepared for it. Right now you can read our article “How to sleep in the summer heat if there is no air conditioning” and find out how to make an air conditioner with your own hands.


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