The Winter Olympics are underway in Sochi, Russia.

We want to help you sound like an expert when you discuss the games, so here's a few tid bits that can help.

Aerial photo of Sochi's Olympic Park. Credit: Sochi2014.com

LOCATION

Sochi is located on the eastern shore of the Black Sea near the border of Georgia and Abkhazia. It is situated northeast of Turkey and southeast of the Ukraine. Quite the place for the Winter Olympics considering it is classified as a humid subtropical climate. 

Credit: Google Maps

CLIMATE

A humid subtropical climate tells us that it has hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. February has an average annual high temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit and an average low temperature of 34 degrees Fahrenheit. If the average low temperature in February is above freezing, how are they holding the Winter Olympics here?

The colors represent the humid subtropical climate zones of the world. Credit: Wikipedia

Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort

Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort will host the alpine skiing along with numerous other events. Rosa Khutor is located 30 miles north of Sochi in the Caucasus Mountains. It consists of a base elevation of 3,084 feet and a summit elevation of 7,612 feet. With the 4,000 vertical feet of elevation gain from Sochi comes a rapid change to a winter climate. This allows for adequate snowfall during the winter months. For that, the resort was constructed from 2003 to 2011 and was specifically designed for the Olympics. The resort has one of the biggest snow-making systems in Europe with over 400 snow-making machines installed along the slopes. If that wasn't enough, 500,000 cubic meters of snow was stockpiled into 10 shady pockets above the venues to ensure there was snow available. Russian President Vladimir Putin guaranteed “real snow” during Russia's bid to the International Olympic Committee and from the looks of it, his wish was granted. 

Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort. Credit: LiveScience.com

Weather Forecast

We know OpenSnow is your favorite source for snow forecasts, but since we don't have a local forecaster in Sochi, here are some other weather resources to check out:

Snow-Forecast: Computer automated point forecasts for Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort.

Meteostar: Global Forecasting System (GFS) point forecast for Sochi, Russia and near Rosa Khutor Alpine Resort.

Event Schedule

NBC Olympics Results & Schedule

Enjoy the games!