Minus 69 and Counting: Severe Weather, Snow Lands in Siberia, Disrupts Air Travel in Moscow

Severe winter weather has arrived in Russia, with temperatures in parts of Siberia falling to minus 69 degrees Fahrenheit (56 degrees Celsius) on Monday.

In Moscow, blizzards blanketed the Russian capital in record snowfall, according to the Reuters news agency. The turn in the weather disrupted flights across the country. It reported 15

While there was no precise measurement that had been topped, The Moscow Times reported that it was the largest snowfall since the city began recording snow amounts in 1878.

At some Moscow airports, runways were covered in thick snow, with at least 54 flights delayed at the Russia capital’s three largest airports, the new agency reported, citing Russia state media.

Meanwhile, in Siberia, temperatures in the Sakha Republic — the location of Yakutsk, which is one of the world’s coldest cities — dropped below minus 58 degrees Fahrenheit, or minus 50 degrees Celsius.

But local meteorologists said, for those who live there, it would feel colder, thanks to wind and humidity in the area.

“In the European part of Russia, in the Urals and Siberian territories, the frost is expected to increase in the first week of December,” Russia's national meteorological service said.