A weekend-long snowstorm in Moscow has delayed flights, cut power supplies to nearby villages and even prompted authorities to call a snow day - a highly unusual occurrence in the frost-resistant Russian capital.

The Meteorological Office said on Monday that more than a month's average fell on Moscow over the weekend, with the height of snow now reaching up to 55 centimetres (22 inches) in some parts of the capital.

In a city where school is rarely ever cancelled, Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said parents were not expected to take children to school on Monday.

More than 60,000 households in regions around Moscow were left without electricity over the weekend but the power supply was restored by Monday.

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