 Russia-spring or fall? |
Russia-spring or fall? |
Russia-spring or fall?Europe » RussiaTopic Type: Information | ||||||||||||||||||
| weather conditions in russia | ||||||||||||||||||
lalalala Elena Post Count: 2 Msg: #1 209 days ago, December 30th 2007 | Hi all. Im planning to study abroad in Russia next year, but haven't decided whether to go in the fall semester (late august-early december) or spring semester (mid feb-early june). My biggest reservation is the weather. I have never experienced weather below maybe 35F and I've never seen snow. If I go in the fall would it be wayyyy to cold for me? Would I not be able to cope with the weather change? (i.e. will I be completely miserable?)On the other hand, I've heard that the spring is very wet, slushy, and gross, and the fall would be nice because I'd get to see the leaves change color (something I've never seen either). The program I'm looking into is 2 months in st pete, 1 month moscow, and one month irkutsk. I'm especially interested to hear the opinion of those who have a similar background--not having experienced truly cold weather until having been to russia. because i know that people who are accustomed to cold weather will probably think im being a big baby :P | Rustralian David Post Count: 4 Msg: #2 206 days ago, January 2nd 2008 | Temperature in Russia will generally be referred to in Celcius (C) so get accustomed to talking, reading and thinking using Celcius. Fall (Autumn) semester will not be that cold in Moscow. In December the temp falls to about -3 to +3 with the odd day or couple of days that will be down as low as -10. St Petersberg will generally be colder and more humid (there is a breeze from the water at St Petersberg which chills the air) and Irkutsk will always be colder. When the first snow falls you will find that that is the time when things get really slushy and muddy as well. Snow melts and becomes brown mud that you walk through, splash on yourself and every car gets covered in. It is less dirty in the less populated cities as there is less traffic, but Moscow is basically a giant brown slush pile all through the snow. There is white snow as well, but on the paths and roads, think of brown slush. It is not a time to wear light coloured clothes. As for seeing the leaves change colour, yes you will see some of that, but mostly you will just see trees that have their leaves fall off and become naked sticks. | Spring is not too bad. Yes there is slush and much on the roads and paths when things start to melt, but the snow has to go somewhere. It does however clear up very quickly and where there was snow and ice, there will be within a week green grass growing and trees with leaves. I am sure the previous grass just goes into hibernation and wakes up whnen the snow thaws, as it doesn't grow back over a period of time, but just appears nice and green from nowhere. Mud and slush becomes dry dust and regular dirt and you can go back to wearing light coloured clothes. As for the effects of the cold, you don't really need to feel them. When you are in an apartment there is central heating which is very good, if you get in a car there is heating, if you go to a shop there is heating, in the metro there is heating - basically everywhere you go there is heating. You are only exposed to the cold when you walk outside and that is usually just to a shop or to the metro or to a bus. For the time you are out in the cold you have clothes to wear that will keep you very warm. For people not used to the cold, you need good gloves, good headwear and good shoes - all of which you can buy in Russia and for reasonable prices. For girls fur lined boots/shoes are very good and jeans with tights underneath is very warm as well. Some girls will wear extra clothes if they have to go somewhere in the cold like fur lined boots and an extra pair of thick tights and their long coat and when they arrive where they are going, take of the extra tights, change to inside shoes and check in the coat and bag of outside clothes at the coatcheck. Suddenly a girl that was wrapped in several layers of warm but cumbersome clothes while outside, is inside wearing 5 inch heels, mini skirt and midriff top. One of the big factors to consider for you though, is the quality of the touristy things you can do. There are lots of things that you can do and great photos that you can take and places you can spend hours outside exploring, if you are not walking around in -15C. The snow you can always come and see anytime that you like - but the first trip if it is in the warmer months will allow you to do much more and get better memories for your buck - so to speak. The cold will not be an issue for you, it is more what you can and can't do in the seasons, and if you want to see as much as you can the first trip, then the warmer months are the way to go. Plus if you come for the mid-Feb season, you should still get plenty of snow for the first month and get to experience some nice cold days as well, then have a few months of warm weather to explore and see all that you can. Rustralian <SNIP> [Edited: 10:31 - Administration - Url removed] lalalala Elena Post Count: 2 Msg: #3 206 days ago, January 2nd 2008 | большой спасибо, Rustralian! great detailed information. ive spoken to others about this, and the consensus is that spring would be better, too. thanks again! | Number of Users: 2 | Number of Posts: 3 | |||||||||||
