Thursday 21 January 2010

Winter Takes Hold At Last In Bulgaria

I don't need to read the press to see that winter has arrived here in Bulgaria at last. For the last few months it has been exceptionally mild with temperature soaring breaking all sorts of meteorological records. Pay back it seems is in the making as the next few weeks many place will struggle to get above freezing with temperatures dipping to -22C over the weekend. Looks like the water plate for well will be well stocked up for the growing season this year - good news on that front anyway.


Bulgaria experienced extreme snowfall in the northeast on January 19 and is bracing itself for another day of chaos on January 20 2010.
Varna was one of the places most affected by the weather – for the second day running, all flights from Varna to and from Sofia were cancelled because of strong winds and poor visibility. The municipality said, however, that a fleet of snow-clearing machines were active all night and most major arteries in the city are now secured.
Bulgaria experienced particularly heavy snowfall in the northeast of the country with more expected on January 20. A state of emergency was declared in seven Varna municipalities – Aksakovo, Avren, Byala, Vetrino, Vulchi Dol, Dolni Chiflik and Souvorovo, Dnevnik daily reported on January 20 2010.
In some places in Dobrudja in northeastern Bulgaria snow accumulation exceeded one metre. The Bulgarian civil protection service reported, however, that no people were stranded in vehicles. On January 19 a Turkish bus travelling to Romania hit a wall of snow but rescue workers managed to extract it. All passengers were reported safe.
The Hemus Motorway along the Varna-Slunchevo road is shut for traffic, as well as the secondary roads Souvorovo-Vetrino, and Souvorovo-Vulchi Dol.


Meanwhile, as the day unfolds, the weather system will intensify over western Bulgaria as the snow gradually recedes in the east. Up to 10cm of new snow cover is expected on average in the west of the country on January 20 2010, the Bulgarian Meteorological Institute said on its website.

Source: http://www.sofiaecho.com/
Image: http://www.sofiaecho.com/shimg/zx500y290_844233.jpg