Winter 2025/26 will be warmer than normal, but with sharp drops to -18°C – Ukrhydrometcenter
Kyiv • UNN
The average temperature of winter months in Ukraine is expected to be 1.5 – 2 °C higher than normal. However, sharp cold snaps down to -18°C are possible, especially in January and February.
The average temperature of the winter months in Ukraine is expected to be 1.5 – 2 °C higher than the norm, but the overall warming trend will be interrupted by periods of real Arctic frosts. According to the forecast of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, although most days will have positive temperatures, the danger will lie in sharp and short-term cold snaps. This is reported by UNN.
Details
It is expected that during the winter, the neutral phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO+) will prevail, which will cause the movement of warm and moist Atlantic air deep into the continent. This continues the general trend of the last 30 years, when the average monthly temperature in January and February increased by 2.0-2.5 °C.
Frost strikes
The western transfer of air masses can be interrupted by invasions of cold Arctic air from the north and northeast. Periods of frosty weather lasting from 3 to 7 days (with the possibility of one period of 10-20 days) are not excluded.
Minimum temperatures
During these cold periods, the minimum temperature can drop in the range from -5 °C to -18 °C, and in the Carpathians and northern regions it can be even lower on some days. This is most likely to happen in January and February.
The Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center warns that during the cold period, weather conditions may undergo sharp changes, accompanied by precipitation of various intensities, as well as dangerous and natural meteorological phenomena.