Moscow woke up to heavy snowfall on Thursday, amid expectations that this could be the beginning of the whitest winter in half a century.
The Russian capital's weather bureau said 16 centimetres had already fallen by late morning - more than double the norm.
Some felt terrible about the wintry weather.
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) MOSCOW CITIZEN SVETLANA, SAYING:
"(Snow evokes) horrible emotions, I don't know. Horrible, just horrible. Dirt and puddles and all that."
While others said it has its perks.
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) MOSCOW CITIZEN, BANKER, ALEXEI, SAYING:
"(Snow) brings some kind of happiness, the feeling of the New Year and expectations of holidays, I guess."
This season's first snowfall caused massive traffic jams around Moscow, and delayed scores of overnight flights.
Forecasters say that by the weekend snow cover could reach half a metre.
