November 30, 2012 - RUSSIA - A large, early snowstorm raging in Moscow disrupted flights and created havoc on the roads on Thursday. Yelena Temakina, chief of the forecast department at Moscow’s Meteorological Office, said 20 centimeters (8 inches) of snow had fallen in 24 hours.
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| A woman walks in a snow-covered park in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012. A record-breaking snowfall in Moscow has disrupted flights, created havoc on the roads, and forecasters say the storm will rage until Friday morning. Moscow's city hall said the Russian capital hasn't seen a bigger snowfall in November in about 50 years. Over 70 flights were disrupted overnight. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev). |
That is half of Moscow’s typical amount of snow for the whole of November. Moscow’s City Hall said it expects the snowstorm, which is due to continue at least until Friday morning, to be the biggest in November in 50 years. The roads in the capital have been clogged up since early Thursday morning and about 70 flights from Moscow’s largest airport, Domodedovo, were disrupted overnight. On Thursday, all three of the capital’s airports were working normally. Motorists complained about the lack of efforts to clear the snow from the streets. In one section of Moscow’s beltway the traffic was paralyzed for at least 30 kilometers (18 miles) on Thursday afternoon, according to the traffic tracker Yandex.Probki. -
Boston.
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| A woman walks between two snow covered cars in central Moscow. © AFP/Getty. |
Moscow has recorded its heaviest November snowfall for half a century with a 24-hour snowstorm that has blanketed the city in more than four inches of cover. Officials in the Russian capital have called in 12,000 snow-removal vehicles to help combat the effects of the snow on the city's transport system but, in spite of lengthy efforts to minimise disruption, traffic jams have been reported to stretch back several kilometres on Moscow's roads. "I was speaking with the forecasters, and it's been more than 50 years since Moscow's seen something like this," said Deputy Mayor Pyotr Biryukov on a television interview. Further to gridlock in the city, flights from Moscow's airports have also faced major delays overnight. The capital's largest airport, Domodedovo, experienced over 70 flight delays, but was back to regular service by 5 a.m. Earlier this year, Moscow recorded near-record conditions when temperatures reached -19.3F (-28.5C) on February 13. The cold Siberian air struck large parts of Eastern Europe and regions were on the verge of a gas shortage when Gazprom struggled to meet the surge in demand. Weather reports suggest that the levels of snowfall for the last 24-hours would normally be expected over a third of a typical November month. Bulldozers will continue to operate around the city as the snowstorm is expected to continue until Friday morning. -
Telegraph.
