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Russia Braces for Deep Freeze With -50°C Forecast as Snowstorms Hit Far East and South

Authorities escalate readiness for Russia's sharpest cold spell of winter.

Overview

  • Norilsk’s civil defense office warns that on 14 January temperatures on southern Taymyr may fall to −50°C or lower, with parents allowed to keep schoolchildren at home.
  • Hydrometcenter chief Roman Vilyfand reports temperatures running at least 5–10°C below normal across many regions, with lows reaching −40 to −50°C in parts of Siberia, the Arctic and the Urals.
  • Forecaster Alexander Shuvalov expects about −40°C in Tomsk and Novosibirsk regions and the south of Krasnoyarsk Krai, spreading west later in the week, with the Moscow region likely to see −25 to −26°C by the Epiphany weekend.
  • Moscow’s snowpack reached 40–47 cm on 13 January, near the 1942 mark, and a new snowfall is forecast to begin after 03:00 on 14 January and continue into the evening with several more centimeters expected.
  • An Okhotsk Sea cyclone struck Kamchatka on 13 January with gusts up to 50 m/s and heavy precipitation causing damage and transport problems, while Sochi and Sirius extended a storm warning for 14 January due to wet snow and icy roads.