A major winter storm dumped snow across Moscow between Monday night and Tuesday morning, prompting local authorities to issue a weather advisory and disrupting air and road traffic.
Snowfall was expected to continue at least into Thursday, followed by very low temperatures over the coming weekend. Moscow officials issued a code “orange” advisory as the low–pressure system, moving westward into Russia from Eastern Europe, focused a long band of snow over the city.
“We need to be prepared for the snowdrifts and compacted snow to remain with us,” said Tatyana Pozdnyakova, chief meteorologist at Meteonovosti.
Moscow saw around 11 millimeters of precipitation overnight, roughly equal to 11 centimeters of snow. Snow cover in some parts of the city reached 50 centimeters in height (1.6 feet).
Sheremetyevo Airport diverted incoming flights on Tuesday morning before announcing a few hours later that it had restored regular air traffic. Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports all remained open, but a number of flights were delayed due to blizzard conditions earlier in the day.
Transportation officials urged Muscovites to avoid driving in the city during the snowstorm and instead use the underground metro. Traffic monitoring services reported significant congestion along major city roadways early Tuesday, including along the Garden Ring and the Moscow Ring Road.
“Driving by car can double or triple your travel time. Add another 20-30 minutes to your commute due to ongoing snow removal. The risks of car accidents and traffic jams are increasing exponentially,” Moscow’s Transportation Department said in a statement.
Meteorologists said the snowfall on Tuesday broke a daily record for Moscow. The previous daily record for snowfall on Jan. 27 was set in 1995.
Russia’s space agency Roscosmos published a satellite image of the snowstorm from space as it approached western Russia after leaving behind a trail of disruptions across Central and Eastern Europe, including in the exclave of Kaliningrad, which experienced freezing rain on Monday.
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