Caprices of Weather

The weather forecasts warning against a cold rainy spring have come true. After the heavy rains and low temperatures in March, April has started with alerts for yet more rain, strong wind, sleet and even snow.

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România Internațional, 07.04.2015, 15:35

Romania has been seeing some extreme weather this April. The unusually cold temperatures have caught Romanians by surprise, who were looking forward to finally rid themselves of their old winter clothing and welcome Orthodox Easter this coming Sunday in a new set of clothes, as is customary in Romania. Instead, they had to go back to their warm clothes and winter boots.

In recent days, a yellow code alert for bad weather has been in place in half of the counties in the centre, east and south of the country. The east and south-east has been hit by gales. The amount of rainfall is expected to reach 40 to 45 litres per square metre. With the wind reaching 50 to 60 km per hour, the sensation of cold is even stronger. The Black Sea ports of Constanta North, Constanta South-Agigea and Midia have been closed temporarily due to wind. In the city of Constanta, several cars have been damaged by fallen trees. As a result of heavy rain, landslides have been reported in 17 villages in Prahova County, in the south. Many homes are in danger of collapsing, and several families have been evacuated. Sections of the road have fully or partly closed because of landslides and fallen trees, and road travel has been restricted. Snow has been reported in the centre of the country and in the mountains, and the gusts have piled up the snow.

In Harghita County, in the centre, travel has been done in winter conditions. Forecasts are, however, optimistic for the later part of the week, when weather is expected to improve across the country. Gabriela Bancila, from the National Weather Administration, explains:

“The weather will improve starting on Wednesday, when temperatures start rising in extra-Carpathian regions. Starting on Thursday, we are expecting not only warmer weather, but also lots of sunshine. We will finally have the spring we want, warm, sunny weather and 20 to 22 degrees Celsius at Easter in some parts of the country and low chances of rain.”

The good thing about the recent snowfalls is that winter sports lovers can still enjoy some skiing during the Easter holiday. People who are not so keen on skiing, can instead go to the sea coast or go out for a picnic with their families and friends, as there will be lots of sunshine to enjoy.