Get up, it’s snowing – Kommersant

Heavy snowfall caused by the North Atlantic cyclone Olga paralyzed traffic in Moscow and on the approaches to the city on Wednesday. 29 cars were involved in the accident on the M-4 Don highway. By evening, thousands of trucks had accumulated on the Moscow Ring Road, unable to independently overcome the now icy slopes; they were pulled away by the tractors of the data center. Amid snowfall and traffic jams, taxi prices in the capital have tripled. Next, 20-degree frosts are expected, while the snowstorm may continue.

Meteorologists warned in advance about the arrival of the North Atlantic cyclone Olga in the capital region. Ministry of Emergency Situations with reference to Roshydromet the day before predicted blizzards, snow drifts and wind gusts up to 17 m/s. Intense snow with a blizzard in Moscow began around 14:00, which immediately affected road traffic.

The disaster led to a sharp surge in minor and major road accidents. At 14:24, the Moscow State Traffic Safety Inspectorate immediately reported two accidents that occurred on the 64th kilometer of the Kyiv highway – traffic was blocked for several hours. Around 16:00 on the 86th kilometer of the M-4 Don highway happened a massive accident in which 29 cars collided: one person died, 15 were injured, seven were sent to the hospital. The traffic police and Avtodor organized a detour through the oncoming lane with access to Kashirskoye Highway.

The ERA-GLONASS system transmitted a total of 110 calls to rescuers from cars involved in massive road accidents during several hours of snowfall, said Alexey Raikevich, General Director of GLONASS JSC.

The capital’s mayor’s office asked citizens ahead of time not to use personal transport on Wednesday, but to switch to public transport. At 16:00 Moscow Department of Transport released even a reminder map with a list of exits to the Moscow Ring Road, where ice most often forms and trucks skid on inclines (including junctions with Entuziastov Highway, Kievskoe and Varshavskoe Highways). The authorities recommended that drivers of heavy trucks plan their schedules taking into account the weather and carry snow chains with them; other motorists should avoid driving near these exits. By 19:00, according to the Department of Transport, about 7 thousand heavy trucks had accumulated on the Moscow Ring Road, some of which could not cross the road on their own. To help them, the Moscow Traffic Control Center sent Highway Patrol trucks onto the highway. Road services in the Moscow region were also transferred to an enhanced operating mode.

Traffic problems have triggered the traditional rise in taxi prices: according to estimates “RIA News”fares have increased at least three times (in the morning a 40-minute trip cost 700–800 rubles, in the evening – 2.4 thousand rubles).

By 18:00, traffic jams in Moscow reached nine points and remained in this mode until 19:30, then the situation began to stabilize. “There will be a rather difficult period in the next three days,” said Moscow Vice-Mayor Pyotr Biryukov. “More than 10 cm of snow has already fallen today; we expect approximately the same amount, and maybe more, before five in the morning. At the same time, the temperature will drop tomorrow and in the following days to minus 20 degrees, and sometimes even lower.”

The temperature drop to minus 21 degrees in the capital region was also confirmed by the Hydrometeorological Center. “At the same time, snowfall will continue, snowstorms and gusty winds of up to 15 m/s are expected in some places,” they said.

Ivan Tyazhlov