Christmas forecast: Western Estonia looking at snowless holiday this year
Eastern Estonia has the greatest chance of seeing a white Christmas this year; out west, residents should brace themselves for a snowless holiday, says meteorologist Taimi Paljak.
Up north in Sapmi, the ground is already white and it's currently 17 degrees below zero Celsius out. According to Paljak, lead meteorologist at the Environment Agency, Estonia shouldn't expect to see conditions like this anytime soon. The weather in Estonia is influenced by a westerly wind off the ocean.
"The ocean water is warm, which strengthens low-pressure systems rushing toward Europe," Paljak said on ETV's "Terevisioon" Wednesday morning. "There is currently no high-pressure system to counter this."
She noted that this ocean-shaped rebellious weather remains rebellious in Estonia as well, changing in as little as half a day.
"Today's beautiful, crisp weather will be replaced by snow and sleet by evening," the meteorologist said. "On the mainland, we may see a little snow, but this will quickly turn into sleet and rain. Unfortunately, this pattern will continue."
Slightly more stable weather and temperatures closer to freezing are expected Friday and Saturday, but heading into next week, the country will see variable weather again just before Christmas, and Eastern Estonia in particular may see snow and sleet.
"So on Christmas Eve, there's hope we may see a couple of centimeters of snow on the ground in Eastern and Central Estonia," Paljak highlighted.
"In the west, however, I don't think the snow will stand up to the rain and above-freezing temperatures," she added.
In other words, at least Western Estonian residents should brace themselves for a snowless Christmas.
"If it should just so happen that we'll see a light snowfall and the temperature drops, then that's just a wonderful stroke of luck," the meteorologist noted. "But I still think that in the west, we should be prepared for the fact that we won't be getting any snow."
Even if snow were to fall in the region on Christmas Eve, it won't last through Christmas Day, she added.
Predicting the weather for New Year's Eve will require meteorologists to monitor the situation day by day. Based on previous years, the weather may stabilize and bring some sub-zero temperatures. But Paljak said this is a nerve-wracking situation for meteorologists, as the outlook can change quickly.
Permanent snow cover, meanwhile, looks to be more likely come January. Looking back, there doesn't seem to be a strict rhyme or reason to when Estonia can expect snow to come to stay – sometimes it doesn't come down until the latter half of January, but then sticks around through March.
"Will it happen in the first half or the second half of the month?" Paljak asked. "Either way, I still think we'll see winter this year."
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Airika Harrik, Aili Vahtla