'Tropical' Winter Thunderstorm Hits Moscow as City Sets Temperature Record

Muscovites were woken up by rumbling thunder on Sunday morning, as the highest temperature for February since 1914 was recorded by meteorologists.

MOSCOW, February 1 (Sputnik) — Moscow was hit with a thunderstorm on Sunday morning around 7:30 a.m. local time, as the city set a new record with air temperatures rising to 3.1 degrees Celsius (37.6 degrees Fahrenheit), the highest since 1914 for this time of year.

"Thunder rumbled over Moscow this morning, this is a unique weather phenomenon that occurs very rarely," a Fobos Center meteorologist told RIA Novosti.

Social media users were awed by the event, as thunderstorms in February are unprecedented for the region.

Why don't we call such wonderful Moscow weather 'The Chocolate Season'? #Moscow pic.twitter.com/UAKtfdOGHq

— Anton Tsvetov (@antsvetov) February 1, 2015

Several winter sports events, such as a cross-country skiing marathon in suburban Khimki and a troika horse-drawn sled race at the Moscow Hippodrome are still scheduled to be held despite the snow-melting temperatures.

Moscow is considered to be one of the most affected places in the world by global warming, as temperatures have been rising two and a half times as fast as the global average, according to the Moscow Times. In 2010, massive forest fires clouded Moscow in fog and destroyed a third of Russia's wheat harvest, which is said to have had an impact in bringing about Arab Spring protests, as food prices rose globally as a result.