December 2011 in the Sverdlovsk region turned out to have little snow and set a 20-year record for snow deficit - while over 100 years of meteorological observation, the first winter month took fifth place for the same indicator, said Galina Sheporenko, chief forecaster of the Sverdlovsk Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. “There is not enough snow. Last December ranks fifth in terms of precipitation over the entire period of observation - a little over a hundred years. There was a similar one about 20 years ago, in 1992,” said the chief forecaster. According to her, the average snow cover in the region in December last year was two times lower than normal. “In Yekaterinburg we see almost no snow at all,” noted the chief weather forecaster. Ms. Sheporenko added that February promises to be snowier. “According to the forecast of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia - this is a preliminary forecast - the amount of precipitation in February should still be close to normal, with the possible exception of the southwestern regions, the extreme southwest,” she said. The expert said that the average air temperature in February is expected to be around normal - “this is minus 12–14 degrees, in the north of the region - up to minus 16 degrees.”

RIA News"

Kommersant (Ekaterinburg) No. 7 from 01/18/2012

The Middle Urals experience a shortage of snow in winter