Record snowfall blankets Moscow

The snow depth breaks a record set in 1966, when snow drifts measured 62 centimetres, the weather centre said.

MOSCOW, February 22, 2010 (AFP) - Moscow was blanketed with a record-breaking 63 centimetres (nearly 25 inches) of snow on Monday, the regional weather centre said.

The snow depth breaks a record set in 1966, when snow drifts measured 62 centimetres, the weather centre said.

The Russian capital has seen heavy snowfalls since Friday. So far this month, almost 50 centimetres of snow has fallen, which is three times the monthly average, the weather centre said.

Monday's snowfall was expected to also break a 33-year record by reaching more than 10.5 millimetres in the water equivalent over 24 hours, meteorologists said.

More than 17,000 snowploughs worked to remove the snow Monday, Andrei Tysbin, the city official in charge of snow clearing, told the RIA Novosti news agency.

Workers cleared 417,000 cubic metres (14,725 cubic feet) of snow from city streets from Sunday to Monday, a city government spokesman told the Interfax news agency.

Despite the extreme weather, local airports continued to operate normally Monday.