Snowy Moscow; Record Snow Forecast In China; Historical 'Polar Vortex' Fails; + Strong M Flare

"Most experts believe the ice will come again ... It will crush cities [and] freeze great stretches of northern lands..."

Snowy Moscow

This winter is on track to be one of the snowiest on record, reports gismeteo.ru, with December, with its average depth of 27cm (11 inches), going down as Moscow's snowiest December for a quarter of a century, three times snowier than normal.

January has continued that trend.

The first 10 days brought higher-than-normal totals to the capital, and by the second half the deviation had only grown. By Jan 25, snow at Moscow's VDNKh weather station had pushed well-above long-term norms, to reach 46cm (18.1 inches):

The highest January total on record remains the 57 cm (22 inches) posted in both 1956 and 1994 (near the solar minimums of cycles 18 and 22). While unlikely, it isn't impossible that Jan 2024 exceeds this — more flakes could hit Tuesday/Wednesday.

“A walk through Moscow at night in the snow - a special kind of pleasure!” — @FrancineKetelaa on X.

“In Moscow, the snow is a trap for these delivery vehicles. A Sberbank courier saves his colleague Yandex electronics.” — @MartVled on X.