The main problems of record snowfall are named: narrowing lanes, abandoned cars

Indeed, we can say that this winter is very snowy; there hasn’t been such a snowy winter for three or four decades,” Roman Vilfand, head of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, said in an interview with MK. – And it’s not just the height of the snow, although the height is very high, the main thing is the density of the snow. We can expect that tomorrow – since the snowfall will continue – the snowdrifts in different areas of Moscow may grow up to 70 cm, up to 60 cm exactly. That’s a lot. Indeed, there have not been such snowdrifts of 60 cm for a long time.

According to the forecaster, the most intense snowfall had already passed by the middle of the day on February 15, but it will continue in the evening and on February 16, only with much less intensity. “The night from Friday to Saturday will still be wintery – minus 7, minus 9, but during the day on Saturday the circulation of air masses will change, they will move from the south-west and Atlantic origin, so it will warm up to 0, minus 2 degrees, in a word, there will be a thaw weather, says Vilfand. – Wind increases of up to 15 m per second and precipitation are expected, but precipitation is precisely sleet and light snow… Such an increase in temperature, however, will not bring warmth to “neither the soul nor the body”: there will be gusty winds and humidity in the air, precipitation in various forms…”.

On Monday the circulation changes again, the meteorologist promises. Air masses will move from the north, so night temperatures will reach minus 10, minus 15, on Tuesday – up to minus 18 degrees, and during the day about minus 5. This temperature is 2-3 degrees below normal. In other words, the weather turns out to be really heterogeneous. Heavy snowfalls will continue not only in February, but also in March. So, Roman Vilfand summarizes, it is better not to have high expectations in this regard – as Balzac said, they bring the greatest disappointments.

Have fun, but don’t relax

So, weather forecasters suggest that city residents not dream about spring just yet (March in our latitudes is still winter), but enjoy it: take their children sledding, go skiing. However, not everyone manages to get pleasure. First of all, such a snowy winter and changes from frost to thaw and back again complicate the lives of older people who are afraid to leave the house during such a period.

Winter this year feels like a real one, and it pleases the eyes, the children, and active residents of the city,” Muscovite Elena shared with MK. “But older people are uncomfortable.” My elderly aunt sits at home all winter and is afraid to walk. As a car enthusiast, I myself have to experience stress from the possibility of getting stuck in the snow, from skidding or traffic jams. But, as a rule, all difficulties are felt on the day of snowfall and a couple of days after, and then the situation stabilizes. Public transport works flawlessly, there is an alternative. This year, it is especially felt that the utility workers are tired, our janitor is really trying – early in the morning, at night and in the evening you can hear him scraping with a shovel. All the strength, just a little patience left!

Needless to say, how difficult such snowy days complicate the work of operational city services.

It is clear that very quickly, after the snowfall has just passed or during it, it is impossible to remove huge masses of snow, so at certain moments we experience difficulties in getting to the place where they are waiting for our help,” the driver of the detachment’s operational transport told MK “SpasReserva” Vasily. – Utility workers, of course, try to quickly eliminate the consequences of snowfall, throw snow onto the right lane in order to remove it later, as a result, the number of lanes is reduced for some time, all cars drive very slowly, and because of this, travel time increases for special transport. But it is even more difficult to find a parking space in the yards during the peak of snowfall. After all, utility workers, first of all, clear the main highways of snow, and then it’s their turn to the courtyard areas. Snow drifts, into which cars parked for a long time unused in yards turn into, reduce the width of the passage. We ask drivers, if possible, to give way to special vehicles and park more carefully in their yards, look carefully and not block the entrances to houses.

Moscow utility workers in their Telegram channel on Thursday afternoon reported that “work is continuously continuing to eliminate the consequences of snowfall,” including “cycles of work are being carried out on continuous mechanized sweeping of the roadway and sidewalks with subsequent de-icing treatment.” They asked motorists “in bad weather, if possible, refrain from traveling in personal vehicles, and if this is not possible, be careful on the road, strictly observe the speed limit and distance, be understanding of the work of public utilities and not interfere with the movement of convoys of equipment.”

And in the middle of the day on February 15, the relevant deputy mayor, Pyotr Biryukov, announced a hitherto unprecedented measure: to clear snow, some streets and alleys of the city would be completely blocked for some time. Drivers, again, were urged to treat this with understanding. True, there is no list of streets blocked for snow fighting yet: it seems that this will be a surprise.

Automoto patience

However, temporary closures do not seem such a disaster against the backdrop of what happens to the roads before snow is cleared (also known as snow fighting in the language of railway workers). And two main things are happening: firstly, a real Russian winter has reigned on the roadway, which is already unusual for city drivers. And secondly, all vehicles that encountered snowfall (or even snowfalls – depending on the period) in a parked state now need a non-illusory “digging out” from under the snowdrifts.

“If you missed one, maximum two major snowfalls, then a typical middle-class city car, a crossover, will most likely get out of the snow captivity,” says driving instructor Valentin Porkhovsky. – To do this, you need to be able to swing: alternately engage forward and reverse, so that each time you move a little further and accelerate a little faster. There are three dangers here: be careful not to get too close to the neighboring car, because in the snow your car may pull to the side. Next, when making your way backwards onto the roadway, be especially careful not to jump directly in front of a passing car. If you do not have a rear view camera, it is better to ask an assistant to “honk” whether the passage is clear. Finally, if the snow parapet is too high and it takes a long time to break out on your own, the gearbox of cars with automatic transmissions may overheat.

If you smell something “fried”, it is better not to try to move out of the snow on your own, but to go in search of a shovel. The most prudent drivers already have it in the trunk (which sometimes, however, will also have to be reached first). The rest need to look for colleagues from the first category – or go to the store. Moreover, it is better to choose a more rigid shovel – for example, a metal one, rather than a plastic one, which may well turn out to be disposable.

In general, it is worth considering that getting a car back on the road that has been sitting in a snowdrift for several weeks is a matter that requires patience and time. The first and obvious thing is to remove the snow from the car (if it is hard and has layers of ice after freezing rains, you may need a shovel again, and you need to act carefully so as not to damage the paint). At a minimum, according to traffic regulations, glass, optical instruments and license plates must be clean; the rest can be “melted” in the parking lot of a shopping center in 2 – 3 hours.

But it is not a fact that the car will immediately open and start after being idle. It is quite possible that you will have to melt locks and doorways (for locks there is a special device with a heated “sting”; ideally, doorways should be heated with a hairdryer, but where can you get one… you have to tear it off very carefully, trying not to damage the rubber bands). And also recharge the battery.

It’s not our own, that’s why they’re pissed off

However, there is a category of parked cars that evokes special feelings among others. These are car sharing crews parked in snowdrifts: in different areas of Moscow, such cars have been spotted in one place for many weeks. Only fragments of a car in a bright branded livery stick out from under the snow – and the “material parts” themselves, as residents of the surrounding houses suspect, are no longer in very good working order.

“We call the car sharing operator once every few days,” says Tatyana Ivinskaya, a resident of Chertanov Central. – We call the number, they take the information into account, and nothing happens. This car sharing, meanwhile, took up an extremely valuable parking space for us. It’s very sad, considering that the very concept of this service provides for a constant turnover of cars, but then something happened to it.

Perhaps something happened to the car that cannot be eliminated in the field and requires serious “treatment” in the service, suggests Igor, the foreman of the service center, where carsharing cars are traditionally serviced. “We don’t have a territory where you can dump a car for several months while waiting for a spare part,” the engineer explained. – The operator also does not have unlimited parking. So, most likely, a technician came to the car, determined what needed to be done, and then the repair request was sent to the service center and they are waiting for their turn. And since parking is allowed in that yard, then car sharing can wait there, nothing will happen, that’s the logic.”

True, some suggest that such “abandonments” are also formed due to snow: they say, there is a car, theoretically you can rent it, but where have you seen a car sharing subscriber with a shovel “included”? And there are no shovels in the trunks of rental cars either. So there is a fashionable vehicle waiting to be dug up…