More than 6,000 people have been deployed to clean platforms and clear snow from switch points, traffic signals, and other infrastructure of the Moscow Railway, MZhD reported. A total of 111 units of special equipment were sent onto the line. Over the past 24 hours, 5.5 thousand km of track have been cleared and more than 145 thousand cubic meters of snow have been removed.
The snowfall began on February 19 and turned out to be record-breaking: the snow cover height at the VDNKh weather station reached 70 cm, exceeding the 1966 record (64 cm) and standing 32 cm above the February norm.
According to Evgeny Tishkovets, a specialist at the Phobos weather center, the absolute February record at VDNKh has not yet been broken — it remains at 72 cm. At Balchug, 78 cm was recorded, and in Tushino — 73 cm. In the Moscow Region, the leaders are Cherusti (84 cm), Kashira (83 cm), and Kolomna (81 cm). The cyclone that brought the snowfall from the Balkans dumped up to 23 mm of precipitation overnight on Kursk and Oryol regions on its way to the capital — more than half of the monthly norm. The Hydrometeorological Center declared an orange danger level in the region.
Moscow city services are also working around the clock: they are removing snow banks from the street and road network and clearing courtyard areas. During the daylight hours on Saturday, pitched roofs of apartment buildings, facades, and drains are being cleaned — the work areas are fenced off.
A repeat of the February 19 snowfall is not expected in the near future. According to the forecast of Marina Makarova, a leading specialist at the Hydrometeorological Center, precipitation in Moscow will occur practically every day for a week, but it will be light to moderate.