This weekend and at the beginning of next week weather conditions will remain similar to now. Friday, the 20th of December, will be mostly cloudy with moments of clear sky, as reported by Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre.
Some precipitation is expected – mostly rain. Wet snow is expected in the evening. Sections of some roads in Latvia will become slippery. This means motorists should be especially cautious while on the road! The wind will blow from the south and south-west. Over the course of he day, it will change direction to the west. At night in western parts of Kurzeme and Vidzeme, as well as all of Latvia during the day, wind speed will reach 15-18 m/sec. Minimal air temperature at night and maximum air temperature during the day will stay at +4° C… +7° C. Air temperature will start going down in the evening.
Weather on Saturday will be volatile – the clouds will clear and the sun will shine from time to time. Precipitation is expected as well – rain, wet snow, and snow in eastern parts of the country, where a layer of 1-2 cm of snow will form. Roads will become slippery in certain areas. Slow to moderate western and south-western wind will reach a speed of 15-19 m/sec along the coast and later on deeper in the country. Along the coast wind speed will reach 20 m/sec. Air temperature at night will drop to 0° C… -3° C (0° C… +4° C along the coast). Daytime air temperature ill reach +1° C… +6° C.
Saturday, the 21st December, is the winter solstice – the shortest day of the year and the onset of astronomical winter in the northern hemisphere of the Earth. In Riga, the sun will rise at 09:00 and will set at 15.43. The length of the day will be six hours and forty three minutes. Starting with Christmas, however, days will gradually become longer.
On Sunday, the sky will be overcast. Rain and wet snow are expected. Eastern regions will see snow. Ice will form on individual sections of roads. Slow to moderate south, south-west wind will continue to blow, remaining strong along the coast. Daytime air temperature will stay at 0° C… +5° C.
The sky will remain cloudy at the beginning of next week, but there will be less precipitation. Air temperature at night will drop below 0° C in Vidzeme and Latgale. Daytime air temperature, however, will remain positive. This means Christmas will not be white in most of Latvia this year.