Sochi 2014: Searching Snow

500,000 cubic metres

Amount of snow Sochi is storing in Caucasus Mountains. The snow will be covered with insulated blankets

400 cannons

IN the biggest snow-making operation in Europe,more than 400 snow cannons are making streams of crystals for the Winter Games

Large flat screens display data from each ski run and post the temperature,wind and precipitation at the facility

446 GUNS

On the slopes,these snow guns can shoot out artificial snow whenever its minus 2 degrees C or colder

15c temperature

A snow-producing plant is being made ready to produce snow at temperatures up to 15 degrees C

Just to demonstrate how un-wintery Sochi is,a racewalking event,which is a Summer Olympics staple,was held recently

The most problematic site for the Games will be the new Rosa Khutur resort. At 2,000 m elevation,the worry is that therell be too much snow at the top and too little at the bottom

For the 2010 Olympic Games,Vancouver had to ship in snow from the Rockies. A fleet of helicopters flew in thousands of tonnes of snow

At the 2006 Games in Turin,the snowfall was poor until last-minute supplies were brought in

The 1998 Games at Nagano,Japan,were also threatened by poor snowfall. Snowstorms came eventually,but nearly derailed the Games

White spring in the northern hemisphere

United states

514 daily snowfall records were broken in March 2012. This March,847 new records have been set.

Forget Spring,welcome to Alaskas Ice Age,screamed headlines when temperatures cooled to -16.4 degrees C.

In Canada,Saskatchewans snowiest winter ever is being followed by the coldest spring in 113 years.

United Kingdom

Second coldest March since 1910,temperatures fell to -12 degrees C.

Ten thousand animals buried under 6 m deep snow in Northern Ireland.

30 per cent more car breakdowns in March.

East europe

Snow blizzards dumped a whole months worth of snow in 48 hours.

In Poland,the toll of people dead due to hypothermia in winter and spring is 175.

100,000 homes left without electricity

In Czech Republic,mercury dropped to as low as -38 degrees C

In Bulgaria,more than 1,000 schools closed down

RUSSIA

Its the coldest spring and harshest frost in 50 years.

-25 degrees C in Central parts of Russia and -45 degrees C in the North.

Snow depth of 70 cm,highest in more than 20 years.

Russias annual bird migration stopped,as birds migrating halted their flights north. Some have even turned around and gone further south