Russian Winters

“It’s nighttime”, one of my 3 year old students says at around 9am every morning. How can I explain to her that it is actually is mid-morning, when it does indeed look like the middle of the night outside???

Cold…..ish

When I told people I would be moving to Moscow I received a lot of concerns. Many of the them ended up not being an issue. For example everyone mentioned how cold it is in Russia. In reality the temperature really isn’t too bad in Moscow. Back in the Midwest over Christmas, now that was bitterly cold. No matter how many layers you put on, the frigid air just gets in. Here on the other hand, it’s cold, but as long as you cover up and wear layers you don’t really feel the cold. Perhaps it is because there is little wind, but the same temperature here does not feel nearly as cold as the same temperature back home. 

Dark

It’s the darkness that is difficult! I have heard and read a few books about Scandinavia and the long dark days. For someone who is happy to hibernate and sit in a windowless room, I never thought the lack of sun would bother me. Besides I never even thought about it for Russia. According to many sources such as the NY Times, Moscow only received 6 minutes of sunlight in December. That is just not right! 

Snowy

….and the snow is not fun either! Ever since October it has been snowing an inch or two everyday or every other day. The city really does a good job of cleaning it up fast so it doesn’t feel like a lot of snow each day……. just ever present.

BAM…..forget what I just said because then there was the colossal snowstorm this past weekend. News articles referred to it as the “blizzard of the century”. There was more snow in one day then there is usually in one month in Moscow. A friend who has been here for many years said she has never seen this much snow ever.

The funniest part is that I didn’t even know it was a lot of snow when I was out and about over the weekend. Going into work on Monday everyone asked me if I was okay and what I thought of the snow. Knowing now the amount of snow and how unusual it is to get that much snow I am not really sure how I didn’t notice! I guess I am a Midwest girl at heart and used to these snowy blizzards…..like the one a month ago that started my airport dilemmas! And with the constant snow here it just seemed like another day of flurries, business as usual!

Here is a comparison of the snow:

Here is a weather comparison between Wisconsin and Moscow from one week in December. 

Overall for the stereotypes of Russia, I am very surprised that the temperature doesn’t get that low and that there isn’t that many big snowfalls of the year. Trudging through snow day after day in the dark is a bit of downer though. On the bright side, the snow can lighten up and beautify the dreary surroundings a bit.