WeatherFanatics: Rain for Sochi, Snow for Olympic Mountain Venues

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Rain for Sochi, Snow for Olympic Mountain Venues

By Eric Leister, Meteorologist

January 22,2014; 8:51PM,EST

A major winter storm brought feet of snow to the Olympic venues just a week ago; however, a recent stretch of mild weather, combined with rain falling, even in some of the higher elevations has put a hit on the snow pack across the region.
Colder air began to arrive on Wednesday night causing rain to change to snow in the higher elevations while rain continued to fall in Sochi and the Olympic Village.
Snow is expected to continue through Friday night at varying intensity across the mountains giving the resorts a boost in snow conditions.

Switzerland's Carlo Janka passes a gate during the first run of the Men's giant slalom, at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)
In Sochi, the colder air will mean a chilly rain into Friday morning before precipitation tapers off.
A weak storm system will bring more rain to Sochi early next week while snow is again expected for the skiing areas.
RELATED:
Russia Weather
Detailed Sochi Weather
2014 Winter Olympics Games to Open With Ample Snow, Cold
The weather leading up the Olympics is expected to turn milder which could lead to deteriorating conditions on the slopes used for the Olympic Games.
Whether or not the weather pattern will lead to problems for the Olympics will depend on how mild and how long this pattern lasts, but the concern exists nonetheless.

On Social Media

Tweets for this article AccuWeather Updates