Disruptive snow to fall across Balkan Peninsula into Thursday

The combination of cold air from Russia and a storm crossing the southern Balkan Peninsula resulted in snow falling from Bosnia and Herzegovina into Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria and northern Greece on Wednesday, blanketing the region in white and causing travel disruptions.

The worst of the storm targeted southern Romania and northern Bulgaria where many locations recorded their heaviest snowfall of the season.

As of Wednesday afternoon, snow had totaled 8-15 cm (3-6 inches) in Bucharest, Craiova in Romania and Sofia in Bulgaria. Additional light snowfall is forecast into Wednesday night.

Significant travel disruptions are expected to continue across southern Romania and Bulgaria into Thursday morning as temperatures remain below freezing even after the snowfall ends.

“In additional to travel delays, tree damage and power outages will be possible in these areas, “ said AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys.

Cold air will press southward, causing rain to mix with and change to snow across Macedonia, northern Greece and southern Bulgaria from Wednesday night into Thursday.

A coating to 8 cm (3 inches) of snow in Varna will also cause some travel disruptions in Varna and Burgas.

Snow will taper off to a few snow showers across southern Bulgaria and northern Greece on Thursday, while cold air remains entrenched across much of the Balkan Peninsula.

Thursday’s high temperatures will range from 7 degrees below zero Celsius (20 F) in northern Romania to 4 degrees Celsius (40 F) in northern Greece.

Similar temperatures are expected on Friday, allowing the new snow to stick around for a few days and leading to additional slippery travel in areas where temperatures rise above freezing during the day and below at night.

This chilly air will linger across the Balkan Peninsula through the weekend before slowly yielding to more seasonable temperatures next week.

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