The Russian Miracle..

[flacaltenn]

I've been really impressed by the attention to detail and esthetics for the Olympics.
Russians have come a long way from the drab days of the Soviet Union. But their BIGGEST miracle is compensating for the mild winter weather expected in that venue..

Temperatures in Sochi Warm Enough to be Summer Olympics « CBS DC

On Monday, these Sub-Tropical Olympics really started to heat up with temperatures soaring to 16 degrees C (61 degrees F). That led to skiers in the mountains above Sochi putting snow in their racing suits to cool down, and left ski jumpers landing in puddles.


To combat the possibility of high temperatures, organizers have been storing large amounts of snow and say will they have enough to continue.

Reminds me of spring skiing in the Sierras in shorts and tee shirts.

They have done a super-human job of keeping snow on the slopes and tracks.
So this is great preparation for the future and whatever CC tosses our way. Before anyone goes beserk as to how this is ALREADY a sure sign of GWarming. Take a look at the historical distribution of winter temps in Sochi..

((( now there is probably a 10deg difference from Sochi city center to the venues in the mountains. But that is STILL a fairly temperate place to hold a winter Olympics)))

 

[william the wie]

I thought they were getting part of the polar vortex.

 

[skookerasbil]

Is kinda funny......they hold the winter Olympics in the most southern part of Russia.

 

[Mr. H.]

Even in Chicago, temperatures by the lake run 10 degrees warmer than the suburbs.

 

[flacaltenn]

I realized how impressive it was for the Russians to keep snow on the slopes after reading
this NYTimes article proclaiming the "death of snow" that the [MENTION=20360]skookerasbil[/MENTION] featured in his "World Famous Global Warming Thread".

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/08/o...w.html?emc=edit_tnt_20140207&tntemail0=y&_r=4

Officials canceled two Olympic test events last February in Sochi after several days of temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit and a lack of snowfall had left ski trails bare and brown in spots. That situation led the climatologist Daniel Scott, a professor of global change and tourism at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, to analyze potential venues for future Winter Games. His thought was that with a rise in the average global temperature of more than 7 degrees Fahrenheit possible by 2100, there might not be that many snowy regions left in which to hold the Games. He concluded that of the 19 cities that have hosted the Winter Olympics, as few as 10 might be cold enough by midcentury to host them again. By 2100, that number shrinks to 6.

What the NY Times didn't have the brain cells to realize -- is that MANY of those old Olympic Venues didn't have the "proper climate" to hold Winter Games EVEN decades ago.
Apparently, we overcome natural shortfalls of snow with engineering --- if we really wanted to..

 

[william the wie]

Maybe we should hold the next winter Olympics in Uganda or Ecuador.