A powerful storm will strike central Russia on Tuesday and will cover Moscow in heavy snowfall.
Roman Vilfand, director of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, told the Interfax news agency: “Around midday on Tuesday we predict a sudden change in weather conditions. The eastern fringe of a powerful cyclone is moving toward Moscow. Atmospheric pressure will plummet. The air temperature will rise by more than 10 degrees Celsius — from between -15 and -17 to -5.”
Vilfand said the snowstorm would begin after midday and peak after 3 p.m before calming by morning on Wednesday. Wind speed will hit 15-20 meters per second and snowdrifts and ice will complicate transport in Moscow, he said.
“More snow will fall than in the entire preceding period,” he added.
Temperatures in Moscow and central Russia will drop back to -15 degrees Celsius or colder by the end of the week.
The storm follows an outlandishly warm start to the Russian winter, with temperatures in the capital dropping below zero only in late December.
