Hurricanes, tornadoes may follow heat wave in Central Russia

Central Russia will face a high risk of tornadoes and hurricanes as the long-awaited weather change comes to the region next week, a top Russian meteorologist said.

"As a rule, such disastrous events [tornadoes and hurricanes] take place when weather changes dramatically," said Roman Vilfand, the head of the Russian state meteorological center.

He earlier said that the high pressure system over central Russia will start dissipating next Tuesday, as first changes will appear in the atmospheric circulation for the first time since June 21.

Meteorologists expect the temperature in Central Russia to finally drop to 23-28 degrees Centigrade on Tuesday.

A scorching heat wave has gripped much of European Russia since mid-June, which coupled with the worst drought since the 1970s has made the countryside particularly susceptible to wildfires.

Thousands of emergency workers and military personnel have been working round the clock for almost three weeks to fight fires in 22 Russian regions, which have so far killed more than 50 people and left over 3,500 homeless. The immediate economic cost of the fires has been estimated at $15 billion.

Vilfand said this summer has been "catastrophic" in Russia, adding that an increase of eight degrees Centigrade in average temperatures can be observed only once in approximately 5,000 years.

Mike Blackburn of the University of Reading, U.K. said the unusual holding patterns in the jet stream are to blame for the heat in Russia and rains in northern Pakistan, as well as for other less catastrophic events observed around the world this summer, The New Scientist has reported.

"In recent weeks, meteorologists have noticed a change in the jet stream's normal pattern. Its waves normally shift east, dragging weather systems along with it. But in mid-July they ground to a halt," the magazine quoted the scientist as saying.

MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti)