“Pure” and “driven snow” don’t always go hand in hand:

Smelly, multicoloured snow falls over Siberia

Updated Fri. Feb. 2 2007 9:03 AM ET

Associated Press

MOSCOW — Russian emergency workers have flown to a Siberian region where smelly and multicoloured snow fell earlier this week covering about 100 square kilometres, officials said Friday.

The snow, which fell Wednesday afternoon, was yellow, green and orange and had an oily texture and unpleasant smell, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.

But, as usual, it’s not Russia’s fault:

Regional meteorological official Lyudmila Voronina said a weather system may have brought the snow across the border from Kazakhstan, RIA-Novosti reported.