Romania, in the grip of cold weather

Winter has returned to Romania, bringing along snowfalls, blizzard and heavy rain.

Leyla Cheamil, 05.04.2023, 14:00

A cold snap has taken most of Romania into its grip, in what should have been the second month of spring. In some areas, the trees that began to produce buds are now covered in snow. Meteorologists have warned, ever since last week, over this bad weather episode, which brought along low temperatures, way below the normal ones for this time of year. This is due to a polar cyclone that has also affected the west, centre and south of Europe. Minimum temperatures across Romania have gone down below 0. An orange code alert has been issued for western and eastern Carpathians where it has been snowing a lot. There was also strong wind that exceeded 55-65 km/h, and even 70-75 km/h in some areas.

Meteorologists have issued a yellow code alert for very cold weather, snowfalls and strong winds for almost the entire country, except for a number of counties in the west and north-west. It is not only the wind and snow that have caused problems, but also the heavy rain. Quantities of water that exceed 20-25 l/m and even 40-45 l/m in some areas, are further expected.

Heavy rain was also forecast for the capital Bucharest, but starting Tuesday night it is only expected in the north-east. According to meteorologists, although temperatures are quite low these days for the second month of spring, the weather will improve. According to a 4-week forecast, temperatures will go up to the normal levels in most areas, and will continue to be lower only in a few regions. Thus, as the warm season draws near, temperatures will be higher one week to another.

Hydrologists, on the other hand, have issued orange and yellow code alerts for flooding on a number of rivers across the country. They have warned that, following the heavy rain and the melting of snow, there is a high risk of flooding at local levels. In terms of road traffic, disruptions have been reported due to the bad weather, snow in particular. Two national roads have been closed due to blizzard and low visibility, while on other four roads restrictions have been imposed on trucks. On Olt Valley, in the south, large rocks that fell from the mountains have damaged several cars. (EE)