Welcome to the (official) first day of Spring

South Primorye region and the city of Vladivostok, in particular, were hit by a powerful snow storm on the official first day of Spring. More then 240 people were deployed in the streets of Vladivostok to keep the city moving.

'Since late Thursday evening a group of about 140 snow ploughs and other equipment at work in different parts of Vladivostok clearing the streets,' said a spokesman for the city administration.

Work was underway all night clearing the road from the snow.

'The clearing continues;  the roads are sprinkled with a special mixture preventing the ice appearance', he added.

Despite of all the measures, there were more then 50 traffic accidents in Vladivostok in the morning alone. Elsewhere it was a similar story. 

Nearly 24,000 residents of the city of Berdsk in Novosibirsk Region celebrated Spring... by having their heating cut off at midnight. 

Some 176 high rise blocks were hit by a broken gas boiler in temperatures of minus 5C.

And as the Siberian Times weather guide shows, in Yakutsk, the new season of Spring arrived with temperatures of minus 33C.