Last winter colder than the norm in Estonia
Last winter was -0.8 degrees Celsius colder than the norm, with less precipitation and sunshine.
The average winter temperature was -3.4 degrees Celsius, according to the Estonian weather service. The winters of 1932/1933 and 1944/1945 were also cold. Although February is traditionally the coldest month of the winter, this year it was January, when the average temperature in Estonia was -6.3 degrees Celsius.
This was largely due to a particularly cold first third of January. The first third of January was the coldest in 11 years. The record low temperature for the winter was also recorded at this time, with the thermometer at the Jõgeva weather station reading -28.3 degrees Celsius on January 7. The last time January as a whole was so cold was in 2014.
The maximum winter air temperature was 7.6 degrees, measured at both the Vilsandi coastal station and the Valga meteorological station on December 19 and February 25, respectively.
Although snow fell in southern Estonia for several days in the first half of December, breaking trees in several places and causing power outages, winter precipitation was still one-fifth below average at 132 millimeters.
The snow cover in southeastern Estonia and in some places in northeastern Estonia lasted from late fall to late winter and even into early March. In most places, however, the snow disappeared due to a thaw in the second half of December and rain at the end of the month. On February 16, the Tuulemäe gauging station recorded a maximum snow depth of 45 cm.
During the winter, Estonia had an average of 100 sunshine hours, which is 85 percent of the norm. Since 1961, there have been 17 winters with even less sun. During the winter, the Viljandi weather station reported up to 60 days without a single minute of sunshine. However, in terms of hours, they had more sunshine than the residents of Pärnu, who received only 76 hours of sunshine over the winter.
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Editor: Jaan-Juhan Oidermaa, Kristina Kersa