“On Monday, freezing rain is forecast in places in the Pskov, Moscow, Ryazan and Saratov regions,” he said.

Conditions for freezing rain are caused by temperature differences at certain heights above the ground, Wilfand said. “The temperature at an altitude of 2-3 km is negative, then at an altitude of one to one and a half thousand meters it is positive, from about zero to plus two degrees, and below it is negative again,” he said, explaining that after falling into the lower layer, precipitation begins become covered with a crust of ice.

The meteorologist emphasized that difficult weather conditions are predicted in several more regions of the Central, Southern and Volga Federal Districts. “Precipitation in the form of rain and sleet, heavy adhesion of wet snow, heavy ice and heavy ice-frost deposits are expected,” he added, clarifying that these weather phenomena are predicted in Tver, Tula, Ryazan, Tambov, Voronezh, Moscow, Rostov , Astrakhan, Saratov regions and Kalmykia.

Vilfand also noted that in Rostov, ice-frost deposits with a height of 41 mm were recorded.