Winter has finally arrived in Naliboki Forest. Winter continues: a photo-report till spring.

Coauthor Irina Rotenko

Real winter becomes not so common season even in Naliboki Forest in Belarus, where historically winter started usually since mid-November and ended in the late March or early April. The climate change is seemingly destroying our lovely winter, and the last winter period of November 2019 - March 2020 was snowless and almost without frost. Moreover, the winter 2018-2019 finished so early in the mid-February.

We like real winter with deep snow cover and frosty weather a lot. While looking forward to winter weather, last autumn we were talking about how good the coming winter would be with a lot of snow and frost. But even December 2020 passed nearly without real winter days. We met the New Year with rainy weather. We were upset with this winter and agreed that this winter would be as a long nasty autumn again. However, suddenly during three days after Orthodox Christmas winter has finally arrived to where we live, to Naliboki Forest. First we faced with a heavy snowfall, and, according to the forecast, then we should be waiting for strong frost next weekend.

Below you see some winter photo-collection that we took during the last few days at our house, in the wild of in Naliboki Forest and in some small villages at the forest edge.

In the wild of Naliboki Forest.

In villages at the forest edge and inside Naliboki Forest.

At our house in Naliboki Forest.

Also, we caught idea to provide a further photo-report about how this winter continues in Naliboki Forest. See below.

20th-22nd January 2021. It got warmer: from - 4C at night and up to +2 in noon.

24th-26th January 2021. Two days the weather was very mild, first with sun shining as in early spring, then cloudy with raining.

On 26th and 27th January it is heavily snowing again. The forest is full of snow.

It became very hard to drive vehicle (even an ofroader) on the forest roads.

In the beginning of February Naliboki Forest is wallowed in deep snow.

Snowbanks on our yard in Navusts' on 9th February.

21st and 22nd February. Strong sun shining. In noon it was slightly thawing, but from evening till morning there is frost -2 - -8C. In Naliboki Forest there is very deep and sticky snow cover, some places 60-90 cm of snow. It is hard both go by cross-country skis and on foot in the forest.

The last days of February and beginning of March was sunny and quite warm. It looks like spring started. Waters of melted snow accumulated in river valleys and other lowlands. But since 5th March it was frosty at nights and today of 7th March it is snowing a lot again. So, it is winter again.

However, the mid-March was relatively warm. Snow cover in openings melted. There was happened an amazing ice drift in the Nioman river (see a separate post). Still in forest habitats there are much snow. Weather forecast promised that it would be a return of winter for a week, at least. Today, on 19th March a heavy snowfall happened.

Till 22nd March there was a winter return with frost up to -8C and quite a lot of snowfall. Today on 22nd March it looks like a spring again. We are looking forward for a flood.