Record snowfall in Russian far east sows fun, frustration and massive drifts

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, Russia, Jan 19 (Reuters) - The biggest snow fall in 60 years on Russia's Far Eastern Kamchatka Peninsula created vast drifts several metres tall that blocked building entrances and buried cars, according to Reuters visuals and weather monitoring stations.

In some areas more than 2 m (6.5 feet) of snow has fallen in the first half of January after 3.7 m in December, according to weather monitoring stations.

A man walks out of an apartment block surrounded by snowdrifts after an extreme snowstorm hit the far eastern city of Petropavlovsk‑Kamchatskiy, Russia, January 17, 2026. REUTERS/Lydmila Moskvicheva

Reuters pictures showed cars almost completely buried in metres of snow and four-wheel drives struggling for traction - or simply blocked by great drifts of snow. Locals were forced to dig out paths to the entrances of apartment buildings.

"I plan to go on a walk around the city tomorrow, though unfortunately the car has been parked in a snowdrift for a month," said Lydmila Moskvicheva, a photographer in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a port city 6,800 km (4,200 miles) east of Moscow.

Snow covers cars and the lower floors of apartment blocks after an extreme snowstorm hit the far eastern city of Petropavlovsk‑Kamchatskiy, Russia, in this still image from a video taken January 15, 2026. REUTERS/Lydmila Moskvicheva

Video posted on Russian media showed locals walking on snow drifts alongside traffic lights and great piles of snow several metres tall lining roads.

Some jumped down the drifts for fun.

Thumbnail courtesy of REUTERS/Lydmila Moskvicheva.

(Reporting by Reuters; writing by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Jan Harvey)