Why is Stalingrad so cold?

[Webb]

While watching WWII documentaries I see that Stalingrad's invaders greatly feared the "Russian winter".

But why would Stalingrad be so cold? It's relatively far south, farther south than London and Munich.

Is this one of those weird weather patterns that makes Washington state and London so rainy (it's caused by ocean currents)?

[Fozzer]

Its the same reason why my Sim V Chums constantly remind me that it snows in the "Desert States"; Arizona and New Mexico!

Weather can be so confusing!... ...!

It always rains in Washington State, and New Yorkers are always digging themselves out of deep snow!

Paul....Weather Watcher.... ...!

[ozzy72]

Because its not in the Bahamas?

[ViperPilot]

Perhaps similar to 'Lake Effect'? Also, even though Stalingrad is a fair piece South of 60° N, those Arctic air masses can really migrate South and create havoc.

I remember a couple years back after an earthquake in Turkey, where Winter descended upon the affected area and brought heavy snow and temps hovering around 0° F.

The recent Polar Vortex that hit the Great Plains is another example; on 11/11/14, the Temperature in Denver @ 10 AM was 58° F. By 2 PM it had dropped to 32° F (0° C), and by 5:00 it was down to the low 20's F. That night, the Low Temp was 11° F.

The cold front that brought the freezing temps came with heavy winds, which toppled a 50' Locust tree in front of my house into the street.

[Fozzer]

I am just longing for Palm Trees to appear in my back garden now!... .....>>>

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-30852588 ..... ...!

I like being warm!

Paul...Coconuts and Bananas for tea!..... ...!

If I was imbibed with infinite power, I would like to rotate Planet Earth to move England slightly closer to the Equator... ...!

[C]

Viper eludes to the answer I think - it's a combination of its physical location, and the air masses it's exposed to. It's land locked - the closest large areas of water are the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, but neither are ocean sized, so the warming effect an ocean would provide in the winter months is not prevalent. The prevailing air masses coming down from the arctic or across from Siberia will start cold and not be heated by the land either.

In short, pretty cold. Not horrendously (on average), but pretty cold.

PS. London isn't terribly wet, but the UK has a fair bit of rainfall as our prevailing air mass comes from the atlantic; if we're lucky up from the Azores, if we're unlucky from the arctic or Newfoundland!