The meteorologist shared his pre-holiday forecasts: when to expect snow and what to expect in January

According to the associate professor, there is one week until Christmas, and the length of the day, which goes from 6 pm 55 min. In northern Lithuania until 7 pm 23 min. in the south, it will hardly change during this period.

“Actually, it will be shortened by another minute to December 20. And it will last again from December 23. This year’s winter solstice is December 21. This time is not only important from an astronomical point of view , but also affects climatic and meteorological conditions. Large-scale thermobaric fields in the northern hemisphere are expected to be completed by the third decade of December and atmospheric circulation from non-tropical latitudes will shift to a winter regime that will last approximately until mid-December. of March “.

According to him, during this period, the polar vortex intensifies in the stratosphere, and continental anticyclones, especially Siberian (Asian) anticyclones, intensify in the background.

“This morning it is having fun snowing in the eastern part of Lithuania, but there is still an area of ​​light rain, so the snow cover will not last long. I don’t know if such a popular conjecture can be applied to these times “If Martynas with a nail, then Christmas with ice” and vice versa. This year, St. Martin (November 11) was wet, but no stronger cold is expected next week.

The average air temperature next week in eastern Lithuania will be slightly above 0 ° C, and on the coast, at least a couple of degrees higher than 0 ° C. Precipitation before Christmas is expected to be mostly in a liquid phase, and after Christmas, mixed, “he commented.

At the same time, G. Stankūnavičius pointed out that the Euro-Atlantic sector is still dominated by the same large-scale factors: deep, regenerating cyclones in the Northeast Atlantic and a nearly stable and strong high pressure system over the Urals and Western Siberia.

“Cyclone tracks should change early next week. They are expected to travel east through the British Isles, the North Sea and the southern Baltic Sea. The Asian anticyclone center will move east, but its ridges will continue to affect eastern and south-eastern Europe. The high-pressure ridge over the North Atlantic will also strengthen. No significant cooling is expected, except in the eastern part (middle and lower Volga districts), but the climate relatively cold has persisted there to this day. “

He also emphasized that although Siberia is now very cold compared to Europe, the cold itself is not extreme, and today the lowest air temperature in central Yakutia (Saxony) is about -30- -43 ° C, and in southern Siberia, only about … 15 – -25 ° C.

“The biggest thermal anomaly will occur in the northern European part of Russia. On the coasts of the Barents and White Seas, the air temperature rose from -10 to -15 ° C to positive early next week. It will also be hot in the United States, especially in the Midwest.

It is true that severe blizzards and colds have been reported in New York and surrounding areas these days. The blizzard and the cyclone that caused it have already passed, but most of the time it will cool down there tomorrow and the day after tomorrow (to -4 – -10 ° C), but it will warm up again from Monday and no cooling is expected meaningful until Christmas. “

In the Northern Hemisphere, the tropical cyclone season is over, he said, but tomorrow another tropical vortex will form in the Philippines, weakening from Monday to Tuesday after reaching southern Vietnam.

“The Vietnam Meteorological Service (NCHMF) does not predict any extreme events. In the southern hemisphere, the tropical cyclone season is gathering momentum. An active cyclone will hit northwestern Australia on Sunday, but the Australian Meteorological Service (BoM) only predicts possible flash floods in several regional rivers (Ficroy and East Kimberley).

But the South Pacific has recently been hit by a series of strong tropical cyclones: after losing its power, the Zazu is moving east over colder subtropical waters, and the Yasa has just passed through the Fiji Islands, causing severe flooding, landslides and devastation. “

G. Stankūnavičius noted that after Christmas, the high pressure system over the Northeast Atlantic is likely to strengthen and the climate to cool across northern and central Europe.

“There will be heavy snowfall in Central Europe and the Balkans, and heavy rains are expected in western France and northern Spain. It will also snow in Lithuania. According to the European Center for Medium-Range Forecasts (ECMWF), no cooling is expected strongest in Lithuania in the first half of January “.