Moscow, January 11, 2026 – The Europe Today: Russia’s capital experienced the heaviest snowfall in 56 years on Friday, with 42 percent of the monthly average precipitation recorded in just 24 hours, media reports said.
“The snowstorm that hit central Russia on Friday brought record-breaking snowfall, paralyzing ground and air traffic across the region,” said Evgeny Tishkovets, a leading specialist at the Phobos Weather Center, a private forecasting service.
According to Tishkovets, Moscow’s main weather station at the Exhibition Centre of the National Economy logged 22 millimeters of precipitation in a single day, equivalent to 42 percent of the monthly norm. Overnight, light snow added an additional 2 millimeters.
Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport reported that over 1 million cubic meters of snow had been cleared from its premises within 24 hours.
As of 12:00 p.m. local time (09:00 GMT) on Saturday, Russia’s Ministry of Transport said 78 flights at Moscow’s four major airports were delayed by more than two hours, while 35 others were canceled. All airports had resumed full operations by noon.
Moscow Railway estimated that approximately 70,000 cubic meters of snow had been removed from the city’s railway infrastructure over the same period.
The unprecedented snowfall caused widespread disruptions to both air and ground transportation, highlighting the challenges of urban infrastructure in extreme winter conditions.
