[Dave K]

Day 82: Full update of the tables again today because there were some big changes.

Čoavddatmohkki in Norway logged the lowest minimum outside Russia so far in this project and also some impressive minima for Finland. This means that at last Norway has been able to overtake Sweden in the nations's rankings for 2nd place! Petrun' has reclaimed 2nd place in the locations ranking and there is quite a shuffling around in the top 10. Once again outside Norway/Sweden/Finland/Russia the minima were generally on the mild side all over the continent though.

[Dave K]

Day 83: A bit strange today, some very cold days locally but despite a thorough search through the whole of Europe I can only find 8 locations with eligible ice days with so much of the continent mild again. Of the 8 that took points, no fewer than 4 of them are first time scorers too. There are no significant changes in the league tables.

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Saltdal is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the Salten traditional region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Rognan. Saltdal was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838.

The Old Norse form of the name must have been Salptardalr. The first element is the genitive case of the river name Salpt (now Saltelva) and the last element is dalr which means "valley" or "dale". The meaning of the river name is unknown.

The coat-of-arms is from modern times. They were granted 1988. The arms show two gold-colored rowan twigs on a red background.



During World War II, the Germans decided to lengthen the Nordlandsbanen from Lønsdal in Saltfjellet. Over a period of three years, the original plan was to first have both the road and the railroad all the way to Narvik and then on to Kirkenes, but they only managed to build the railroad to Bodø. The Germans continued to lengthen the road to Kirkenes, and it came to be known as Blodvegen (the Bloodroad) by locals. This project involved prisoners of war, mostly from the former Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union, in building this road under extremely harsh conditions. The workers lived in prisoner camps where they did not receive enough food for the hard work with the road. This caused many of the workers to collapse and die. A famous sign of this road is the blood cross one of the prisoners drew on the mountainside with his recently killed friend's blood. It has become a tradition to repaint this cross with red paint, so people who pass this will never forget what happened. It's still possible to walk this road, which stretches from Saltnes to Saksenvika. At Saltnes, you will find the Bloodroad museum.



Saltdal was known for having some of the most horrifying prisoner-of-war camps in Norway during World War II. A grand total of 15-18 camps with 9,500 Russian, Polish, and Yugoslavian prisoners were located in the valley.

The main centre in the municipality is Rognan, on the southern shore of Saltdalsfjord, where the valley floor meet the fjord. When the Ice age ended and the ice had melted 9,000 years ago, the valley was a fjord as the sea reached what is today an elevation of 120 meters due to isostatic depression. The valley is situated just north of the Arctic Circle.

Two national parks are partially in the municipality: Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park in the southwest, and Junkerdal National Park in the eastern part. This makes Saltdal one of the municipalites in Norway with the largest percentage of protected areas within its borders. The Saltdal river (known as "Saltdalselva" by locals) runs through the valley. The riverbed appears very bright in some places due to the minerals in the sand. The valley is covered with pine forest and birch and other trees are common as well. Lakes in the region include Fiskeløysvatnet.



The municipality lies on the northeastern side of the mountains of Saltfjellet, in the rain shadow of the mountains, and with mountains in almost all directions, Saltdal is one of the driest areas in Norway. For five years in a row, 2001 to 2005, and then again in 2007 and 2008, Saltdal (upper part of valley) was the weather station with the least precipitation in continental Norway, with only 74 millimetres (3 in) in 2005. Saltdal is also known for its warm summer days, frequently being one of Norway's warmest locations if the right weather situation occurs (east or southeasterlies). During a heatwave in June 2011 Saltdal recorded four days in a row with daytime temperatures exceeding 30 °C (86 °F), and on 11 june 2011 Saltdal recorded 33.8 °C (93 °F), new county heat record for Nordland.[3] Monthly 24-hr averages range from −6 °C (21 °F) in January to 14 °C (57 °F) in July (1961-1990 base period, source Norges Meteorologiske Institutt), and the annual average is 3.3 °C (38 °F). April and May are the driest months, with less than 10 millimetres (0 in) precipitation, and July is the wettest month with 39 millimetres (2 in). This data is from the driest, upper part of the valley, and most other parts of the municipality averages about twice as much precipitaiton; Junkerdal (210 meters above sea level) averages 600 millimetres (24 in) annually.

Saltdal has a great history in boat building out of local timber. Especially before World War II, the boatbuilding industry employed a large percentage of Saltdal's population.

Nowadays, the largest employer in Saltdal is Nexans. The company's Rognan factory specializes in telecommunication, fibre optics and copper cables. There is also some agriculture in Saltdal, and many people work within public services.

[Dave K]

Day 84: A rare opportunity to get this done early today as I have no need to wait for Iceland's complete update of synops.

Estonia until now has been very resistant to the cold but finally it makes its debut in the scoring as the 24th nation to score and pushing the UK down a place again ( to 21st ). So only Lithuania of the countries that might have been expected in the north and east to feature has failed to score. Orenburg re-appears to increase its lead a little more, and the tussle between Sweden and Norway carries on with less than 1/5th of a point separating them.

[Dave K]

Day 85: Another easy one to compile today with Iceland mild again.

Last year's Project Icebox winner Nikkaluokta hasn't featured much yet this time, but today it has registered the coldest minima outside Russia in 2011/12 (below 500m asl anyway), with -31.8 °C. This is enough to help Sweden reclaim 2nd place in the nations rankings above Norway. Another cold 24 hours for Estonia propels it into the Top 12 nations. The top 3 in the locations table stay as they were but it's all change from positions 4 to 10. There are now 191 locations which have scored points with Aviemore remaining the UKs sole representative.

[Dave K]

Day 86: Still rather mild in Iceland so again today it's the same nations involved as the last couple of days. Nikkaluokta plunged down a bit further yesterday morning to log an even colder temperature and Vajmat, also in Sweden, records the lowest 24 hour mean for anywhere in Europe so far. So Sweden has widened the gap over Norway a bit further and is making a very little ground on the runaway leader Russia too.

[Dave K]

Day 87: A slight easing of the extreme cold generally. Grímsstaðir back in the scoring after a long absence and closes down on 2nd place. Some more shuffling of positions too from 4th to 10th.

[Dave K]

Day 88: Grímsstaðir has gone back into 2nd place and the gap to 1st looks bridgeable, although 3rd placed Petrun' may benefit too as NE European Russia looks to be cooling off again.

[Dave K]

Day 89: Petrun' jumps from 3rd place to 1st in the locations ranking. Iceland warms up early this morning and Grímsstaðir misses out on an ice day. Another very cold 24 hours for parts of Sweden. Really quite desperate scrambling to find ice days for 9th and 10th place today. Nothing significant changes in the national rankings so just the daily scores and locations ranking tables today.

[Dave K]

Day 90: Defending champion Nikkaluokta moves up to 3rd, it's best position so far this time after spending ages in the shadows. Some extremely cold daily mean temps in Russia, but outside of Russia, Sweden, Norway and Finland it was a struggle again to find more eligible ice days for scoring, in the event Latvia takes 9th and 10th with very moderate temps and pushes the UK back down one more place in the nation's ranking. Iceland even had some +10 °C maxes yesterday and mostly frost free too.

BTW - there was one ice day at a synop station in France but Rodez ( Aveyron ) is above the 500m asl limit otherwise France might have got on the scoreboard!

[Dave K]

Day 91: France at last manages to get on the scoreboard - the 25th nation to gain points, ça s'arrose! Ambérieu-en-Bugey had to beat stations with ice days in Ukraine and Belarus to open its account. The deep cold proving more reluctant to shift from Lapland and NE European Russia than before and Nikkaluokta is now in 2nd place. Will we see a sub -40 °C this winter though? Iceland again on the mild side.

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Ambérieu-en-Bugey is a commune in the department of Ain in eastern France. It is the largest town in the arrondissement of Belley and the seat of the Ambérieu-en-Bugey canton, as well as the capital of the historic region of Bugey. The population as at 2008 was 12 792.



The town lies in the commune's western part, on the right bank of the river Albarine, which forms most of the commune's southern border. It is surrounded by the communes of Saint-Dennis-en-Bugey, and Bettant . Its expansion is due to the demographical expansion, two new housing areas on the eastern side of the city where there is lots of space (near Bettant).

The demographic expansion af the town is mainly due to the lack of space in Lyon and its surroundings, where most of the region's work is. The TER/REAL services put in place by the SNCF allow a good link to Lyon.

They are a few things to do around the place, in the town itself, there is the train museum, and of course the old town. In Bettant and Saint-Dennis, you can visit the 'folky' village and the fountains in Bettant.

Ambérieu-en-Bugey Air Base (French: Base aérienne 278 Ambérieu-en-Bugey) (ICAO: LFXA) is a front-line French Air Force (French: Armée de l'Air (ALA) base located approximately 5 km north-northwest of Ambérieu-en-Bugey in the department of Ain in eastern France.

Ambérieu-en-Bugey Air Base is a primary a depot repair and supply center of electronic equipment on board aircraft and ground telecommunication equipment and detection aids to navigation and the manufacture of simple equipment.

It also supports calibration and repair of all devices for measuring the Air Force and the manufacture and repair of security equipment, rescue and survival of pilots. Ambérieu has two Jodel D140C Mousquetaire aircraft assigned for courier duty.

[Mesogeiakos]

Pity you limit it to 500m alt or else an interesting city in NW Greece called Florina (around 600m alt) might give Greece its first entry the next few days...

[DG57]

It seems that today have brought a bunch of icy weather in East-Central France ! Even at the city stations of Lyon !



http://www.meteociel...hp?all=1&mode=4

This post has been edited by MorganeLanesle: 15 January 2012 - 18:58

[Dave K]

Mesogeiakos, on 15 January 2012 - 18:09, said:

Pity you limit it to 500m alt or else an interesting city in NW Greece called Florina (around 600m alt) might give Greece its first entry the next few days...

Well 500m seems to be some sort of agreed threshold against "high altitude" used by various Met Offices which is why Ian and myself have adopted it.

MorganeLanesle, on 15 January 2012 - 18:56, said:

It seems that today have brought a bunch of icy weather in East-Central France ! Even at the city stations of Lyon !

06-18.00 UTC, 15 Jan. 2012.png

http://www.meteociel...hp?all=1&mode=4

Maybe more points tomorrow then

[Mesogeiakos]

Big Dave, on 15 January 2012 - 19:09, said:

Well 500m seems to be some sort of agreed threshold against "high altitude" used by various Met Offices which is why Ian and myself have adopted it.

I am well aware of this Dave

It is just that I want to blackmail an entry from Greece, and I will by saying that the city of Florina despite its 620m alt has managed an all time record of -24.5C according to HNMS. I reckon that this must be the lowest in Europe today.

You dont get to see everyday Greece playing in the Ivy League of cold spots,do you? LOL

This post has been edited by Mesogeiakos: 16 January 2012 - 08:29

[Dave K]

Mesogeiakos, on 16 January 2012 - 08:28, said:

I am well aware of this Dave

It is just that I want to blackmail an entry from Greece, and I will by saying that the city of Florina despite its 620m alt has managed an all time record of -24.5C according to HNMS. I reckon that this must be the lowest in Europe today.

You dont get to see everyday Greece playing in the Ivy League of cold spots,do you? LOL

That's an impressive minimum, and indeed it's not really that high an altitude - about the same as Madrid. Way colder than anything we've had here yet this winter for sure. All time record nationally for Greece is -27.8 °C at Ptolemaïda ( so I read anyway) but I don't know the altitude of the town.

[Mesogeiakos]

Big Dave, on 16 January 2012 - 09:21, said:

That's an impressive minimum, and indeed it's not really that high an altitude - about the same as Madrid. Way colder than anything we've had here yet this winter for sure. All time record nationally for Greece is -27.8 °C at Ptolemaïda ( so I read anyway) but I don't know the altitude of the town.

Correct , -27.8C is the national record of Greece in Ptolemaida at 600m alt approx.Florina has broken its record by almost 3C..It is all over the news in Greece as Florina is an important city of NW Greece.

This post has been edited by Mesogeiakos: 16 January 2012 - 15:02

[Dave K]

Day 92: The UK and France had eligible ice days but with the deep cold much more widespread than has been the case for weeks they got shunted well away from the scoring positions. Rather than the scramble to find places with ice days today was the opposite in trying to eliminate the less cold places; for example Austria, Germany, Ukraine and Belarus (and Greece over 500m!) had some very respectable minima but missed out too. In general Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia logged their minima yesterday afternoon and turned less cold overnight but Iceland was on the mild side again. No changes in the leading positions but some ups and downs in the location and national rankings.

[Dave K]

Day 93: Not quite as intensely cold for the coldest locations today but the cold is very widespread and again a large number of countries had places with eligible ice days. However with Iceland still fairly mild it's Belarus that joins the big guns on the daily scoresheet.

[Dave K]

Day 94: Another day of widespread ice days around the continent but it's stations in Russia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Belarus and Ukraine taking the points. Iceland still on a mild run. Petrun' stretches its lead a little while Čoavddatmohkki and Kilpisjärvi continue to tussle over 5th place in the location rankings. Nothing important to note in the nation's rankings.

[Dave K]

Day 95: Russia took the first two places comfortably but Sweden Norway and Finland didn't have their usual ascendancy over distant challengers such as Ukraine and Belarus, in fact Finland was pushed out of one of its potential scoring slots. Tynset Ii moves back up a couple of places in mid table of the locations ranking but otherwise the main contenders were absent.

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Uman (Ukrainian: Умань : transliteration Uman') is a city located in the Cherkasy Oblast (province) in central Ukraine, to the east of Vinnytsia. The city rests on the banks of the Umanka River at around 48°45′N 30°13′E, and serves as the self-governing administrative center of the Uman Raion (district). The population was 87 437 in 2011.

Uman was first mentioned in historical documents in 1616, when it was under Polish rule. Its role at this time was as a defensive fort to withstand Tatar raids, containing a prominent Cossack regiment that was stationed within the town. In 1648 it was liberated from the Poles by Ivan Hanzha, colonel to Cossack leader Bohdan Khmelnytsky, and Uman was converted to the administrative center of cossack regiment for the region. Poland retook Uman in 1667, after which the town was deserted by many of its residents who fled eastward to Left-bank Ukraine. From 1670–1674, Uman was a residence to the Hetman of right-bank Ukraine.

Under the ownership of the Potocki family of Polish nobles (1726–1832) Uman grew in economic and cultural importance. A Basilian monastery and school were established in this time.

The Uman region was site of Haidamaky uprisings in 1734, 1750, and 1768. Notably during the latter, Cossack rebels Maksym Zalizniak and Ivan Gonta captured Uman during the Koliyivshchyna uprising against Polish rule. During this revolt, a massacre took place against Jews, Poles and Ukrainian Uniates. On the very first day large numbers of Ukrainians deserted the ranks of Polish forces and joined the rebels when the city was surrounded. Thousands from the surrounding areas fled to the Cossack garrison in Uman for protection. The military commander of Uman, Mldadanovich, betrayed the city's Jews and allowed the pursuing Cossacks in, in exchange for clemency towards the Polish population. In the span of three days, estimated 2,000 Poles and Jews were slain. Uman's modern coat-of-arms commemorates the event depicting a "Koliy" rebel armed with a spear.

In 1793, Uman became part of the Russian Empire and a number of aristocratic residences were built there. In 1795 Uman became center of Voznesensk Governorate, and in 1797, Kiev Governorate.

Into the 20th centuery, Uman was linked by rail to Kiev and Odessa, leading to rapid development of its industrial sector. Its population grew from 10,100 in 1860 to 29,900 in 1900 and over 50,000 in 1914. Today the city has optical and farm-machinery plants, a cannery, a brewery, a vitamin factory, a sewing factory, a footwear factory, and other industrial enterprises. Its highest educational institutions are the Uman National University of Horticulture and the Uman State Pedagogical University. The main architectural monuments are the catacombs of the old fortress, the Basilian monastery (1764), the city hall (1780–2), the Dormition Roman Catholic church in the Classicist style (1826), and 19th-century trading stalls.



Uman's landmark is a famous park complex, Sofiyivka (Софiївка; Polish: Zofiówka), founded in 1796 by Count Stanisław Szczęsny Potocki, a Polish noble, who named it for his wife Sofia. The park features an arboretum, a number of waterfalls and narrow, arching stone bridges crossing the streams and scenic ravines.



Every Rosh Hashana, there is a major pilgrimage by tens of thousands of Hasidim and others from around the world to the burial site of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov, located on the former site of the Jewish cemetery in a rebuilt synagogue. Rebbe Nachman spent the last five months of his life in Uman, and specifically requested to be buried here.

The Rosh Hashana pilgrimage dates back to 1811, when the Rebbe's foremost disciple, Nathan of Breslov, organized the first such pilgrimage on the Rosh Hashana after the Rebbe's death. The annual pilgrimage attracted hundreds of Hasidim from Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Poland throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, until the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 sealed the border between Russia and Poland. A handful of Russian Hasidim continued to make the pilgrimage clandestinely; some were discovered by the KGB and exiled to Siberia, where they died. The pilgrimage ceased during World War II and resumed on a drastically smaller scale in 1948. From the 1960s until the fall of Communism in 1989, several hundred American and Israeli Hasidim made their way to Uman, both legally and illegally, to pray at the grave of Rebbe Nachman. In 1988, the Soviets allowed 250 men to visit the Rebbe's grave for Rosh Hashana; the following year, over 1,000 Hasidim gathered in Uman for Rosh Hashana 1989. In 1990, 2,000 Hasidim attended. In 2008, attendance reached 25,000 men and boys.