Trucks blown off road, airport shut as stormy winds hit Norilsk in Arctic Siberia

Several key roads connecting Russia’s capital of nickel, copper and ore Norilsk to airport and the nearby Nadezhda metallurgical plant are blocked by raging wind and snow. 

Locals who dared to drive across the city filmed trucks blown off road, and an abandoned bus.  

The state of emergency in the city will stay for at least another day as gusts of southern wind will stay at 27/29 metres per second, calming only at night when the air temperature plunges to -45C, Taymyr weather centre warned. 

Day temperatures were a milder -25C.

 
We'll weather the weather whatever the weather... Hardy locals in Norilsk dig lock up garages from under snow. Pictures: Zapolyarnaya Pravda, Prospekt Mira

The local bus terminal is crowded with people who cannot return home to the outskirts of Norilsk due to zero visibility. 

Local teenagers meanwhile seem to be enjoying the storm, filming each other gliding - or rather flying! - along snowy roads as they are carried by the mighty wind. 

Earlier residents of Norilsk posted a picture of a family couple digging a snow tunnel to re-discover their garage with their car. 

Another picture from the end of January showed two men digging several metres down into the mountainous snow drift. 

‘Just keep remembering which snow drift might be hiding your car’, the locals joked on social media clearly not fazed by the weather.

VIDEO: Trucks blown off road, airport shut, as stormy winds hit Norilsk in Arctic Siberia