Climate

The Chukotka climate is very severe. Old residents there joke that for one month in a year the weather in the region is bad, for two months it is very bad, and for the nine remaining months it is just awful.

During winter, the temperature in Western continental parts of the Chukotka region often averages -47° to -76°F (-44° to -60°C). In the east, where the wind is especially strong, snowstorms may continue for days. But Chukotka is not the coldest region in Russia; in neighboring Sakha, to the west, lows can drop below -70°F (-57°C)! But even that's not really cold, when you stop to think that the lowest surface temperature ever recorded on Earth was -128.2°F (-89°C) in Vostok, Antarctica on July 21, 1983!

Chukotka summers are short, rainy and cold. Temperatures range from 39° to 57°F (4° to 14°C). In some places, the snow never even melts-forming ice mounds. Permafrost is everywhere and starts very close to ground surface.

The weather there is not only cold...it is unpredictable. No matter what the weather is at a given moment, it can quickly change: from warm into cold weather, sometimes with frost. Snowfall may break out at any time in summer. Almost every day strong wind gusts are recorded, and even these can change very quickly-in direction.

Really, the Chukotka region is the winner of many climatic records: it has the maximum number of days without sun (Vrangel Island), the shortest day-period (North-East coast), highest average annual wind velocity, and frequency of snowstorms and hurricanes in Russia (Cape Navarin).

Not surprisingly, the severe Chukotka climate significantly affects those who live there. Heavy snowstorms and sharp frosts typically cause 10-15 "snow days" a year. On the Arctic coast and Bering Sea, schools and businesses may stay closed for even more than a month, due to the weather!

Source and image: courtesy of http://www.chukotka.org