A terrain that is typically a frozen snowpack is beginning to transform into roads bogged down by mud as unusually mild air arrived earlier than normal in western Russia.
Published Feb. 18, 2022 12:22 PM EST | Updated Feb. 18, 2022 12:22 PM EST
The long, frigid winter in western Russia is about to turn the corner, and the change in the weather could influence military activities ongoing near the border of Ukraine.
The bitterly cold winter weather in Russia can make the simplest tasks more complicated, and that gets compounded when dealing with larger vehicles, such as tanks and convoys of wheeled vehicles.
One of the most well-known examples of winter weather impacting military operations was during the German invasion of Russia during World War II. German troops were able to blitz across Russia throughout the summer and autumn, but the swift advance ground to a halt just miles away from the capital of Moscow when the harsh winter weather set in. This dramatic change in the weather halted the German advance and turned the tide of the entire war on the eastern front.
As the seasons transition from cold and snowy to mild and wet, the biggest obstacle for vehicles becomes the muddy terrain.
"Trying to move armored vehicles and wheeled vehicles through the spring thaw. Just made it very difficult to conduct operations as well as to conduct resupply,” retired lieutenant general Ben Hodges told AccuWeather in an interview. Before retiring, Hodges was an Army commanding general stationed in Europe.
A Russian tank navigating through snow and mud. (AFP / Russian Defense Ministry)
Russians have a term -- rasputitsa -- for this annual phenomenon, which can be translated into English as "the mud of spring."
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AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter said that mud has arrived early in western Russia this year.
“Typically in the heart of winter, many of these locations experience snow cover, the ground is frozen. That’s not been the case," lately Porter said, adding that "it almost feels like spring here in the last couple of weeks dealing with the unusually warm and wet weather."
Additionally, infrastructure in this agricultural region mainly consists of dirt roads, which can transform into highways of mud.
"You can imagine what that’s like when it gets wet," Hodges said.
AccuWeather meteorologists are predicting the soggy conditions will continue there through much of the balance of February.
“We’re going to continue dealing with that mud and occasional opportunities for wet weather while it stays mild in the coming weeks," Porter said.
AccuWeather's Europe spring forecast is calling for a largely mild season across the region, although there could be some setbacks by the end of April and during May.
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