MOSCOW, Jan. 11 -- Russia's capital Moscow on Friday experienced the heaviest snowfall in 56 years, with 42 percent of the monthly average precipitation recorded in just 24 hours.

"The snowstorm that hit central Russia on Friday brought record-breaking snowfall, paralyzing ground and air traffic across the region," said Evgeny Tishkovets, a leading specialist at the Phobos Weather Center, a private weather forecasting service.

"Moscow's main weather station at the Exhibition Centre of the National Economy logged 22 millimeters of precipitation in a single day, equivalent to 42 percent of the monthly norm. Overnight, the snow eased off, with an additional 2 millimeters of light snow falling by morning," Tishkovets said.

Moscow's Shereme...