Mother Nature offered a variety of weather beginning Thursday evening (February 4) with a rainstorm, followed by a wind storm, followed (Friday morning) with a snow storm that left about 15centimeters (six inches) of snow in Yerevan and more in provinces, where Vayots Dzor got 81cm (2.5 feet).

According to officials at Zvartnots International Airport, airline flights were not delayed, however its online schedule shows departures of up to four hours past scheduled lift off.

The inherent slush created unpleasant commuting in the capital, however streets were passable and city snowplows activated for auto and pedestrian traffic. Gagik Manucharyan, Head of the Department of Vegetation, Forest Economy and Plant Defense at the RA Ministry of Agriculture, says that the snow will protect autumn planting from frostbite by providing warmth against freezing. Still, some residents and farmers worry that earlier warm weather will lead to damage brought on now.

“My hazelnut trees and some other trees are already in buds. How can we be sure that this cold will not negatively affect crop yield? ” says Hasmik Bazyan, resident of Urtsadzor village, Ararat province.

“Just the contrary, this weather will support the process of budding to stop, so tress will not blossom. Later in spring (if the trees were early bloomers) when it gets colder we might face even bigger loss,” Manucharyan says.

Temperatures for the evening are expected around the freezing level and no significant snowfall accumulation is predicted for the next few days.