Yekaterinburg faces wild weather swings: snowstorm then spring warmth
Russia's Emergency Ministry has warned residents of Sverdlovsk Oblast about heavy snowfall expected on April 22. According to the agency, the intense precipitation could worsen road conditions and disrupt traffic.
Temperatures, however, are set to rise the very next day. By Saturday, daytime highs in Yekaterinburg will reach +12°C (+54°F). And by the May holidays on April 30, the air will warm to +15°C (+59°F), though rain is forecast nearly every day.
Late-April snow is far from unusual for Yekaterinburg. Weather records and media reports show that the city saw snowfall on the morning of April 23, 2018, and again on April 28, 2019.
In 2014, a severe two-day blizzard (April 24–26) dumped nearly one and a half times the monthly precipitation norm on the city. On April 25, over 20 flights were delayed at Koltsovo Airport due to the storm, with planes diverted to Tyumen and Chelyabinsk. Meanwhile, a 40-kilometer traffic jam formed on the Tyumen Highway as snowdrifts and black ice brought movement to a standstill.
