A significant winter storm blanketed Moscow with snow from Monday night into Tuesday morning, leading local officials to issue a weather alert and causing disruptions in air and road transportation.
Snowfall is projected to persist at least until Thursday, followed by extremely low temperatures over the coming weekend. Authorities in Moscow declared an “orange” weather advisory as a low-pressure system, moving in from Eastern Europe, deposited a lengthy stretch of snow over the city.
“We should prepare for snowdrifts and compacted snow to linger,” stated Tatyana Pozdnyakova, the lead meteorologist at Meteonovosti.
Moscow experienced approximately 11 millimeters of precipitation overnight, which equates to about 11 centimeters of snow. In some areas, the snow depth reached up to 50 centimeters (1.6 feet).
Sheremetyevo Airport redirected incoming flights on Tuesday morning but announced later that regular air traffic had resumed. Vnukovo, Domodedovo, and Zhukovsky airports remained operational, although several flights experienced delays due to the earlier blizzard conditions.
Transportation officials advised residents of Moscow to refrain from driving during the snowstorm and to utilize the underground metro instead. Traffic monitoring services reported significant delays on major roadways early Tuesday, particularly along the Garden Ring and the Moscow Ring Road.
“Traveling by car can increase your travel time by two to three times. Account for an additional 20 to 30 minutes for ongoing snow removal. The likelihood of accidents and traffic jams is rising dramatically,” said a statement from Moscow’s Transportation Department.
Meteorologists indicated that the snowfall on Tuesday set a new daily record for Moscow, surpassing the previous record established on January 27, 1995.
Meanwhile, Russia’s space agency Roscosmos released a satellite image of the approaching snowstorm as it moved towards western Russia after causing widespread disruptions across Central and Eastern Europe, including in the exclave of Kaliningrad, which faced freezing rain on Monday.
In addition, Gazprom reported record natural gas consumption over the weekend as Russians attempted to combat the severe cold affecting much of the nation.
