MASSIVE SNOWSTORM UNLEASHES HAVOC IN MOSCOW
A WEEKEND-LONG snowstorm in Moscow has delayed flights, cut power supplies to nearby villages and even prompted authorities to call a snow day — a highly unusual occurrence in the frost-resistant Russian capital. The Meteorological Office said that more than a month’s average of snow fell on Moscow over the weekend, with the height of snow now reaching up to 55 centimetres (22 inches) in some parts of the capital.
In a city where school is rarely ever cancelled, the Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin said parents are not expected to take children to school early in the week.
Moscow roads on Monday morning were heavily congested but the city did not see a complete gridlock as many had feared.
Snowplows have been working throughout the capital all weekend, clearing a record 1.2 million cubic meters (42 million cubic feet) of snow from the city’s streets, Deputy Mayor Pyotr Biryukov told Russian news agencies.