Unusual weather patterns in 2025: Winter ski resorts persist, yet unexpected snowfall occurs in May.
Freaky Weather in Russia
Pics: Yevgeniya GUSEVA. Link to Photo Bank KP
The year 2025 has already left Russians scratching their heads with its bizarre weather patterns. Muscovites can't help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu about the snowless February and March, with April snowdrifts and May Day snowstorms stealing the spotlight. Crimeans, on the other hand, are questioning the existence of frosts in mid-May by the Black Sea, and the Kola Peninsula is living it up with warmer temperatures than Moscow and Sochi.
Roman Vilfand, the scientific director of Russia's Hydrometeorological Center, has shed light on the weather's peculiarities, particularly the unexpected snowfalls in April and May.
SUMMER IN WINTER
In an unusual twist, this year's weather is all about its inconsistency. Imagine January in central Europe and calling it the heart of winter when the average monthly temperature was positive for the first time ever, sans snow. And remember the snowless March? Too rare, regrettably. This lack of snow led to immediate heating, making first-March snowless days happen about 5% of the time!
SNOWSTORMS IN APRIL AND MAY
April is nothing if not astonishing. After record-breaking heat that mimicked the warmth of May, April transformed into a chilly February with snowstorms and snowdrifts. For a full week in Moscow, people were able to hit the slopes, an event unprecedented in history. The "winter" morphing into July temperatures saw the city enjoying temperatures of +25...26°C, while a little further south it reached a scorching +28°C.
On the 1st and 2nd of May, regions in the European part of Russia experienced snowfall—a word that fits the situation quite well, given that it's rarely happening this late in the year. In just two days, around 70% of the monthly norm was recorded, a turn of events unheard of in nearly 150 years of weather observations. On May 2, the snow depth in Moscow was 7 cm, and over 10 cm in northwest Moscow region.
The cold spell in May is unusually long, practically two weeks. Temperatures are 7-8 degrees below the climatic norm, a stark resemblance to the first week of April. Spring is a month behind. This is due to the influx of very cold air masses from polar regions. Surprisingly, frost was even recorded in Moscow and the Vladimir regions as late as May 15.
Link to Photo Bank KP
FROST EVEN IN CRIMEA
It's not just central European Russia feeling the chill - the Krasnodar region, Stavropol, Crimea, and the Black Earth region are experiencing a prolonged frost. As recently as the night of Tuesday, May 13, frost was recorded in the mountainous regions of Crimea, an occurrence so rare it's a wonder. While it wasn't unusually intense, with temperatures mostly dropping to –1°C, some areas of the Rostov region and even in Crimea experienced –5°C last week. This has never (ever!) happened!
- So what about last year's May frosts?
- Well, they were earlier, before May 8-9, but this year, they're happening even in the second week.*
Daytime temperatures in the south are cooler than they should be in mid-May, ranging from +17...+22°C. But even with the chill, farmers can breathe a sigh of relief, as the rather cool weather with rain will help promote a good grain harvest. As the saying goes, "May is a cold month, but the year will be fruitful".
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Climate change-induced disruptions, regional variability, and complex atmospheric circulation patterns are driving the extreme weather anomalies Russia has been facing this year, with unexpected snowfall in April and May just a small part of the story[1][2][3][4][5]. These anomalies have caused severe wildfires, agricultural disruptions, flooding risks, and ecological imbalances throughout the country[1][5].
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The unusual weather patterns in Russia are raising questions about climate change, as the year 2025 has seen snowless February and March followed by April snowdrifts and May snowstorms, which are rarely happening this late in the year.Environmental science and weather forecasting are essential in understanding this climate change-induced disruption, as the unpredictable weather anomalies have caused severe impacts on the environment and agriculture.For instance, the unusually cold weather in May has led to prolonged frost even in the Krasnodar region, Stavropol, Crimea, and the Black Earth region, causing concern among farmers, who are relying on a good grain harvest this year.
