Heavy snow grips Moscow, triggers travel disruptions

Moscow was battered by a powerful winter storm from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, as heavy snowfall and strong winds created hazardous road conditions and disrupted air travel with multiple flight delays and cancellations.

Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said the Russian capital was expected to receive more than 70% of its average monthly snowfall in a single day on Thursday, News.Az reports, citing The Moscow Times.

“Winter is breaking all records. The snowfalls are relentless… Snow will continue throughout the day, the night, and into tomorrow,” Sobyanin wrote on Telegram.

According to meteorologists, snow cover in Moscow reached 175% of the daily average snowfall for Feb. 19. However, the total did not surpass the daily snowfall record set in 2024. Forecasters warned that blizzard conditions are likely to persist into Friday morning.

“The situation is extremely difficult, but I’m confident the city will manage,” Sobyanin said.

Moscow’s Transportation Department advised residents to avoid driving and instead use the underground metro system to reduce traffic congestion and allow snow-clearing equipment to operate more efficiently.

Traffic monitoring services said morning commuters faced significant delays in the city center along the Garden Ring, as well as the Third Ring Road and the Moscow Ring Road.

Several major traffic accidents involving at least 10 vehicles were reported on the M-4 Don highway near the Moscow region town of Stupino, south of the capital.

Civil aviation authorities said 33 flights at Moscow airports had been either canceled or delayed for more than two hours as of Thursday morning.

Like much of Europe, Russia has been facing an especially frigid and snowy winter due to a disruption of the Polar Vortex, a large region of cold, rotating air above the North Pole.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev