18.01.2019
Climate characteristic of 2018
2018 year was warm. Average annual temperature was +7,9°С, that is 1,2°С above normal.
Deviation of average annual air temperature from climate normal (+6,7°С) across Belarus
This year is ranked 4th in the ordered series of observations (from the warmest year to the coldest) since 1945. Positive anomalies of air temperature were observed throughout the year, except February and March.
Deviation of average monthly air temperature from climate normal across Belarus
2018 started with warm January (-2,7°С) which temperature was 1,7°С above climate normal. First decade was especially warm when daily temperatures reached +8°С. Transition of average daily temperature through 0°С to lower values was made on January, 8 in the country (it is 1,5 month later than usual) which meant the beginning of winter in climatology. Solid snow cover appeared since mid-January and remained till the end of winter.
February was colder significantly with average monthly temperature – 6,0°С that is 1,7°С below normal. The end of month was especially cold when air temperature fell up to -15°С and more during the night hours. The least air temperature (-30,4°С) in 2018 was registered in Klichev on February, 27.
Average temperature in spring was +8,3°С that is 1,3°С above climate normal. Despite positive temperature anomaly of the season, spring started with cold March with average air temperature +0,2°С which was 2,8°С below climate normal. Such cold March happens every 5 years.
Transition of average daily air temperature through 0°С to positive values happened on March 7-8 in the south-west part of the country and on March 23 – April 1 on most of it.
April was very warm. First 5 days were marked by demolition of snow cover. Average air temperature in April was +10,5°С that is 3,2°С above climate normal. Such warm April is being marked for the second time after anomalously warm April with temperature +10,9°С in 2000.
Beginning of vegetation period (transition of average daily air temperature through 5°С) happened on April 3-5 across the country at a time closed to usual. A sustainable transition of average daily air temperature through 10°С (beginning of the period of active vegetation) happened almost throughout all the country on April, 4-15 that is 1,5-2 decades than usual. It happened at a time closed to usual (April, 29) only in far north and north-east areas. Transition of average daily air temperature through +14°С to higher values happened on April 29-30, a month earlier than usually, that is considered as beginning of summer in climatology.
May was anomalously warm with average monthly air temperature +16,9°С that is 3,5°С above climate normal. Such warm May was registered for the first time in Belarus for the period of meteorological observations. Despite high air temperature, absolute May maximums were not exceeded.
Average air temperature in summer was +18,9°С that is 1,6°С above climate normal. Average air temperature of all 3 month was above climate normal. Average temperature in June was +17,6°С that is 1,2°С above climate normal. Average temperature in July was +19,6°С at a standard of +18,4°С. Average temperature in August (+19,6°С ) was +2,3°С above normal. From 32 to 62 hot days were registered during summer across the country (with maximum air temperature +25°С and higher) at a standard of 28-60 days. Number of canicular days (with maximum air temperature +30°С and higher) was from 1 to 14 with normal from 3 to 15 days with such temperatures, plus largest number of canicular days was in August. Maximum air temperature in summer season was registered at the meteorological stations Volkovysk and Pinsk on August, 14 and this value is absolute temperature record of the year.
Average air temperature in autumn was +8,0°С at a standard of 6,5°С.All 3 months were warm, especially September, when average air temperature exceeded climate normal by 2,9°С and was about +15,0°С. Such warm September was registered for the first time since 1945.
A sustainable transition of average daily temperature through 14°С to lower values happened on September, 22-23 (2 decades later than usually) that is considered as the end of climatic summer. Therefore, climatic summer 2018 was almost 4 months. Transition of average air temperature through 10°С (end of the period of active vegetation) happened on September, 23-25 at a time closed to usual on most of the country. It happened on September, 29 in the south-eastern areas of the country. Such positive anomaly was 1,3 and 0,1°С in October and November respectively. End of vegetation period happened in the end of October in the northern and north-eastern parts of the country and in the 1-2 decades of November on the remain territory, that is a transition of average daily air temperature through 5°С to the lowest values. Climatic winter started in the second and third decades of November at a time closed to usual that is a transition of average daily temperature through 0°С to lower values.
December was warm, average air temperature was 1,9°С which is 1,4°С above climate normal. Third decade was especially warm when daily maximums of temperature reached +4 +5°С in the south-west. Snow cover appeared in the end of November, it remains on most of the country on the last day of the year except Brest region.
585 mm of precipitations or 89% of normal fell on average in 2018 (645 mm is normal).
Deviations of annual amount of precipitations from climate normal (645 mm) across Belarus
July and December were the most moistened months of the year when sum of precipitations exceeded significantly normal. July was the most moistened month with 148 mm of precipitations or 174% of climate normal. July was the fourth in the ordered series of meteorological observations concerning monthly sums of precipitations since 1945. November and May were the driest months during which 21 and 29 mm of precipitations on average fell respectively (46% and 49% of climate normal). Such and least amount of precipitations in May is registered every 10 years, in November – every 8 years. Second decade of October was also very dry when there were no precipitations across Belarus. Such small amount of precipitations is observed for the second time since 1979.
Deviations of monthly amount of precipitations from climate normal across Belarus
The following dangerous phenomena were registered in Belarus 2018: 1 time of stiff wind of 27 m/s (in Slavgorod on April, 21), hail with diameter of 27 mm (in Polotsk on May, 17), accretion of wet snow with diameter of 35-84 mm (in Borisov on November, 15-16) and 12 cases of heavy rains including rainstorms. Maximum amount of precipitations per day was registered in Kostiukovichi on July, 22 (80 mm) where daily maximum of precipitations was exceeded during all the period of observations. Soil drought was observed on May and June in the south of the country. Air and soil frost was registered from May to June and from September to October.
