Mother of one called Syrian bombing operation the 'hot topic' of the week

'to hurry up' because of dust storms in coming weeks

A glamorous Russian TV weather girl has informed viewers that Vladimir Putin chose the 'perfect' weather for his bombing campaign in Syria.

Ekaterina Grigorova, 34, used a three-minute slot on Rossiya 24 to say that while there may be some cloud or dust storms, the conditions were 'ideal for performing combat flights'.

But because of dust storms in the coming weeks, she warned it was vital not to delay hitting targets in Syria.

'The weather itself urges us to hurry up', she said, standing in front of a screen showing a Russian fighter jet.

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'Good month for flying': Russian weather girl Ekaterina Grigorova tells viewers on TV station Rossiya 24 that Vladimir Putin chose the 'perfect' weather conditions for his bombing campaign in Syria

Russian jets have launched dozens of air strikes since Wednesday against targets Moscow has identified as bases of the Islamic State, but which President Bashar al-Assad's opponents say disproportionately hit foreign-backed insurgents.

Grigorova, a mother of one, called the Syrian bombing operation – deeply controversial in the West – the 'hot topic' of the week.

'The operation of Russian aerospace forces goes on in Syria. The experts say the perfect timescale was chosen for it, especially in terms of the weather conditions,' she said.

'In general, October is the good month for flying in Syria.

'The average wind speed is two to four metres per second and only once in the month might the wind go as strong as 15 metres per second.'

She spoke in front of a graphic showing temperatures expected in Syria for October with an average temperature of 21C and a maximum of 37C.

Maximum rainfall should be 7mm, and the number of cloudy days just three, while wind speed should not exceed 15 metres per second, she added.

'Usually, it rains once in ten days but the most intensive showers – up to 18mm – are in the north of the country, right where the operation of the Russian forces is taking place.'

A frame grab taken from a video footage made available by the Russian Defence Ministry shows bomb explosions at the site of what Moscow says was an Islamic State ammunition depot after a strike carried out by warplanes near Talbiseh in Homs province, northwestern Syria

According to information released by the Russian Defence Ministry, Kremlin warplanes located at the Syrian Hmeymim airbase carried out 20 sorties against Islamic State facilities in the past 24 hours

She explained to her audience: 'It cannot seriously affect the bombing.

'All is fine with the air temperatures too. The critical for flying temperatures start at +35C, but it is a rare case in Syria in October.'

Still, she made clear that Russian commanders should watch out for the impact of autumn.

'The number of cloudy days dramatically rises – from two to 13 and dust storms are not that rare.

'But this not quite transparent atmosphere should not be a serious obstacle for the operation.

'The clouds here are 4km to 10km higher than the surface at this time of year.

'Scarcely, one cloud can be seen here just 1km above the ground, but they won't influence the targeting and operations systems of the planes.

'In such meteorological conditions, the planes can dive into the clouds and perform effective attacks at the targets on the ground,' she added.

A Russian SU-24M fighter jet armed with laser-guided bombs takes off from a runaway at Hmeimim airbase in Syria. Russian jets have launched air strikes against targets Moscow has identified as bases of the Islamic State, but which President Bashar al-Assad's opponents say disproportionately hit foreign-backed insurgents

Russian military support crew attach a satellite guided bomb to SU-34 jet fighter at Hmeimim airbase in Syria

A Russian army pilot poses at a cockpit of SU-25M jet fighter at Hmeimim airbase in Syria. Russia has insisted that the airstrikes that began Wednesday are targeting the Islamic State group and Al Qaeda's Syrian affiliates, but at least some of the strikes appear to have hit Western-backed rebel factions

'It looks like that only dust storms may make harder the assignments of the Russia air force.

'Dust in the air can dissolve the laser beams which are used by some targeting systems.

'The American military faced this problem during its operations in the Persian Gulf area.

'Several squadrons of M-16 planes had to return back to their bases without using their missiles and bombs.

'But as we said before, dust storms in Syria in October are not that frequent, in other words there are all chances to finish the operation within a short period of time.

'The weather itself urges us to hurry up.'

Her broadcast was made on Saturday. For today – Monday – she said: 'There will be more clouds and it is due to the approaching atmospheric front.

'On Tuesday, the first showers are possible locally, but on Wednesday there will be heavy showers with thunder storms.

'By Friday, the situation will be stable again and further on, until the middle of the month we will see weather with minimum clouds. Such conditions can be called ideal for performing combat flights.'

In a warning to Putin – who has indicated an operation lasting three to four months – she said November could be more difficult.

'In November, the weather will be a good deal more cloudy,' she added.

'Those clouds will often be quite close to the ground, fog will become frequent and in such conditions it will be a bit harder to perform combat flights.'