The Federal Meteorological Service announced on Wednesday that all the snow in the capital had finally melted, giving Muscovites the go-ahead to cheer the arrival of spring.
On Wednesday morning, the snow cover at the weather station at the All-Russia Exhibition Center in Moscow had fallen to zero centimeters from Tuesday's measurement of 6 centimeters, Interfax reported, citing a Meteorological Service official.
On April 1, the measurement was a record 65 centimeters, the official said, noting that some snow remains in parts of the capital where it formed large snowdrifts.
"The situation is different in the Moscow region: In some parts of the region, the depth of snow is still over 20 centimeters," he said, adding that Moscow saw 329 centimeters of snow over the 2012-2013 winter period.
Weather forecasters also said on Wednesday that they expected summer in Russia to be especially warm.
The daytime temperature rose above 15 degree Celsius on Wednesday, and the forecast for Thursday predicts a high of 18 C with partly cloudy skies. The 20-degree barrier is set to be broken for the first time this year on Friday, which is supposed to be sunny with a high of 24 C.
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