Winter weather is coming to Siberia, in winter.

From 0C today to -30C tomorrow: this is how rapid temperature variations are in this part of the world. Here you can see how a powerful stream of very cold air is moving from the European part of Russia to Siberia. It almost felt like spring with snow melting and birds chirping but it's still February so winter knows its business.

Tesla S in Siberia feels OK

Last summer Konstantin Gorohov from Barnaul bought a Tesla S, which was the first electric car in Siberia at that time. Despite the lack of infrastructure and service stations, he has been using the car daily, charging it at his home.

Tesla S in Barnaul, Siberia. Photo: Anastasiya Golenok

Winter brought doubts: how would the batteries perform at -30C? The owner worried that the LCD display would freeze and door handles won't extend. However, the only thing that stopped working after 12-hour stay at -30C was the kinetic energy recovery system that charges the battery during braking. 

The owner says that during winter he charges his Tesla S every other day for 8 hours using a standard 220V outlet. In summer, it's enough to charge the car once a week. The charge lasts for 500 km.

The weather has changed.

It's one day until spring and everyone feels the changes. Strong winds have brought higher sky and clearer (and cleaner) air. Visibility is much better and you can again see far away.

This is the Novosibirsk hydro plant (a pretty small one) that is again visible from my apartment. Notice that water that comes out of the plant does not freeze.

The snow have been accumulated for the entire February. There are many trucks carrying the snow away from the city but they are not enough. It's scary to imagine what is going to happen when it starts melting. Very soon we'll find out: although it was very cold and very windy early this week, today we're heated to unbelievable -2C! Anyway, that's how it looks now:

Walk in Krasnoyarsk Stolby

My friends in Krasnoyarsk took great photos today while walking in the Stolby national reserve (which is located right in the city!) Original post in LiveJournal is here if you want to practice your Russian.

First time in life they saw a sable, not in a zoo or as a hat but a real forest one. It came to the humans trail to look for food.

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All sorts of squirrels. This one is red:


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This one is pale:


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Eurasian Jay:


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New trails to the rocks:


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New wooden cafe serving sbiten (hot drink with honey and spices) and pancakes.


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First rocks:


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