On the afternoon of November 5th (Wednesday) to the morning of November 6th (Thursday), heavy snowfall hit the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, with Urumqi experiencing an exceptionally large amount of snow. As of the morning of the 6th, the accumulated snowfall has exceeded 31 millimeters, breaking the record for the strongest November snowfall in the area, with a snow depth reaching 21 centimeters.
Several videos shared by netizens in Urumqi showed that the heavy snow had caused many trees along the roadsides and in residential areas to collapse, with branches breaking under the weight of the snow, leading to numerous vehicles being crushed under them.
At 7 a.m. on the 6th, the Urumqi Meteorological Observatory upgraded the yellow snowstorm warning to an orange snowstorm warning signal.
According to the Urumqi Evening News, as of 8 a.m. on the 6th, the snowfall has affected the entire city. Among them, the Gaohu New District (Xinshi District) recorded the highest snowfall of 38.5 millimeters, followed by the Economic and Technological Development Zone (Toutunhe District) and Huocheng District with 33.5 millimeters each, Midong District with 32.9 millimeters, Midong Mountainous Area with 31.7 millimeters, Ganquanzi with 21.7 millimeters, the northern mountainous areas of Dabancheng District with 23.5 millimeters, Urumqi County with 18.9 millimeters, and the least snowfall in Shayibake District, at 11.4 millimeters.
Due to the significant snowfall, temperatures in Urumqi and surrounding areas remained below freezing all day. Some primary and secondary schools in Urumqi let students out early on the 5th and declared a day off on the 6th. Several flights at Urumqi Tianshan International Airport have been cancelled.
As per information from the Flight Manager app, as of noon on the 6th, 88 outbound flights and 68 inbound flights have been cancelled in advance.
According to the Chief Forecaster of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Meteorological Observatory, the snowfall in Urumqi is expected to continue until the night of the 6th, and following this snowfall, most of northern Xinjiang may enter winter collectively.