Hurricane force winds destroy homes: welcome to new normal for Siberia, say scientists

The roofs of 147 buildings in Kemerovo region were ripped apart on 27 May in hurricane winds hitting 35 metres per second, equivalent of 78 mph.

Among those hit were 120 private residential houses and 16 residential blocks. 

A total of 25 cars were damaged mainly by some 280 toppled trees. 

The village of Konstantinovka is believed to be worst hit: 18 out of 31 houses were completely ruined, and every roof was damaged. 

The walls of a granary collapsed killing two and injuring one. 

Video shows residents of Kemerovo region driving through a village of Konstantinovka, where stormy wind ripped roofs of every house and destroyed 18 houses out of 31. Pictures from before and after the storm are from Krasnoyarsk, Sverdlovsk and Kemerovo regions

Such extreme conditions are becoming more and more common from the Urals to the Pacific, as shown by another hurricane which ripped through the city of Chita in Trans-Baikal region on 13 May.

Four people died and several were injured in a storm that erupted in Sverdlovsk region on 25 May.

One of the casualties died in an ambulance after his crane in collapsed in Yekaterinburg. 

Another man, 57, perished in the town of Aramil, Sverdlovsk region while parking his car. The roof of the bank was ripped off and landed on him, killing the man on spot. 

Local media reported damage to at least 20 cars and 13 buildings, and power supply cuts affected as many as 100,000 people across the region. 

Wind speeds reached 30 metres per second (67 mph). 

Pictures of the aftermath of a mid-May storm in Chita, Trans-Baikal region. Videos from Sverdlovsk region show roofs getting ripped off buildings and parkings, killing one and injuring two men

The next day, 26 May, zany weather hit Novosibirsk and Krasnoyarsk regions. At least four were injured and 40,000 left without electricity in Novosibirsk region.

Storms blew away three bus stops and made a house collapse like cards.

The streets of Krasnoyarsk were flooded, forcing emergency services to use pumps to get rid of water.

Meanwhile, 11,000 people were left without power in Krasnoyarsk region, almost 5,000 out of them in the city of Achinsk, 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of Krasnoyarsk city.

Storm aftermath in Yekaterinburg, storm in Achinsk, Krasnoayrsk region and tornado in Magadan region

We can expect more of the same in Siberia. Scientists of the research institute for monitoring, forecasting and analysis of emergency situations at Russia’s emergency ministry in Moscow have prepared a chilling forecast for the summer 2020. 

After analysing weather data, they came to the conclusion that several Russian regions, including Siberia and Far East, are very likely to witness more wildfires and dangerous convective phenomena such as tornados and hurricanes come summer. 

They warn of ‘an increased number of tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as other dangerous convective phenomena’ such as ‘hail, thunderstorms, sand storms or heavy showers’.

The surge in such phenomena is seen as linked to global climate change.

Current conclusion is that several Russian regions, including Siberia and Far East, are very likely to witness more wildfires and dangerous convective phenomena such as tornados and hurricanes. Three top images are end of May weather forecasts by Roshydromet federal service for hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring. Last image shows air temperature forecast map for summer 2020 based on 5 different models. Red areas indicate probability of abnormally high or low temperature

Researchers base their forecast on observations by Roshydromet, federal service for hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring, who expect extremely high air temperature for certain stretches until July. 

The forecast highlights that higher air temperature is associated with an increase in the number of wildfires, with an expectation of more wildfires in the south of Far East and Siberia. 

At the same time, Roshydromet’s consensus forecast for 2020 says Western Siberia is 60% likely to see the air temperature above long-term average with the rest of Siberia and Far East also heading for a heatwave.