Astana, 1 November. Kazhydromet has issued a storm warning for 2 November covering Almaty, Shymkent and 16 regions: fog, night frosts down to −8°C, rain with snow and ice in the north and east, and extreme fire danger in five regions, according to the warning Zakon.kz published on 1 November.
The hardest frost is expected in the Zhetisu region: −3…−8°C at night, and −6…−8°C in Taldykorgan. Frosts are milder in the Almaty and Kyzylorda regions, −1…−6°C, and −1…−3°C in Kyzylorda city. Rain with snow and ice is forecast for daytime in East Kazakhstan Region, in the north, east and mountains, and for the night in North Kazakhstan Region, where Petropavlovsk will also have fog. Fog is also forecast in the Akmola, West Kazakhstan, Kostanay and Pavlodar regions, in Abai Region and in the mountainous areas of the Turkistan and Zhambyl regions. Gusts will reach 15–20 m/s in Zhetisu Region near Lake Alakol, in the mountains of Zhambyl Region and in the east and south of North Kazakhstan Region; in the north and east of Pavlodar Region they will reach 15–18 m/s.
A separate part of the warning concerns not cold and precipitation but fire danger. It remains extreme in the western and central parts of Ulytau Region and in Zhezkazgan, in Atyrau Region and Atyrau, in the east of Zhetisu Region, in Kyzylorda Region and Kyzylorda, and in the centre of Mangystau Region. High danger remains in Almaty, Almaty Region, Konaev and Shymkent, and in parts of the Turkistan, Zhambyl, West Kazakhstan, Karaganda and Kostanay regions, Zhetisu Region and the rest of Mangystau Region, including Aktau.
The warning does not say what measures residents of the regions with extreme fire danger are advised to take, or what restrictions local authorities are introducing.
What it means: The first November warning combines winter and summer hazards: frost, fog and ice in the north and east, extreme fire danger in the west, south and centre. For residents of Atyrau, Zhezkazgan, Kyzylorda and Mangystau, the main point of the bulletin is not frost but dry weather.
Background: Kazhydromet’s advisory forecast for November promised an average monthly temperature 2°C above normal and, in the first ten days, up to +18…+23°C by day followed by a drop to +2…+7°C. The forecast for 1–3 November for Astana, Almaty and Shymkent, as relayed by Zakon.kz, put the temperature between −3°C and +22°C.
