First topic message reminder :

The winters here in bulgaria are never the same,

first winter. january 2008 the snow arrived and what a shock 3 metres, bitterly cold, and completely stuck in the house for a month, yet mid february we were on albena beach having picnics.

second winter. late january the snow arrived and well into february, bitterly cold, so cold going to the laundry room was out of the question. ice was on the inside windows.

third winter.. again january the snow arrived, february ok. booked a flight home on the 15th of march, on the 12th of march the snow arrived big style, there was little chance of getting that flight as varna had no morning flights, we got someone to drive us a day early and rebook a flight. the journey was awful and not safe really, in retrospect that journey should not have happened too dangerous

fourth winter.....snow arrives mid december causing problems with the christmas preperations, january a little snow but nothing to cause problems and nothing since, its mild sunny and lovely. so when is the snow coming anyone know. im just about to book a flight home the end of march, but the uncertainty of winters here makes one worry.
what is your experience of winters in bulgaria.

starlite wrote:

a couple of miles from balchik, so its probably coming your way. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Well, as long as it's not before 17.00 when the shop closes, so everybody can get back safely [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

It's only 19C here in Turkey George, shirt sleeves is the order of the day, haven't put the shorts on yet though!!

itchyfeet wrote:

It's only 19C here in Turkey George, shirt sleeves is the order of the day, haven't put the shorts on yet though!!

Wait till you get over here - you won't be doing shorts in MINUS 19 [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

reading these posts it just goes to show that no winters are the same here...neither are they in any area of the country...albeit it a few kilometers apart sometimes .
nothings normal..... or consistant .....

Still no snow in Balchik, so let's hope the "
micro-climate"
works for us again

Predominately Bulgaria has the 4 seasons but, like anywhere in the world, it can have huge variations annually. I agree that although the temperatures in winter drop to around -20 I have felt colder in Britain at plus temperatures. Last year I think the weather was pretty unsettled for the whole year in spite of a very mild February and we were still lighting the woodburner into June many evenings and one evening even in July! Many crops failed due to the unusual weather. Besides the annual variations the weather can be very different in each area and not all places get snowed in. In our village in the Stara Planina mountain area our shops have never run out of goods but I do stock up a bit just in case. Our local bus has only stopped for a few weeks in our first winter 2004/5 which was particularly bad for cold and snow but cars and taxis were okay for those who wanted to risk going out. If weather is really that important to your move do a lot of homework on the area you wish to move to.
This is our 7th winter and no two have been the same. Spring definitely doesn't always start on March 1st and warm weather can last until December. So don't be fooled by thinking that Bulgaria is a temperate climate. Basically winters are VERY cold and summers are VERY hot. How many Brits have thought they love the snow and sun not realising that its a lot colder and a lot hotter than anything experienced in Britain. Except for this winter maybe.......
Actually, the snow this winter is very wet and disappears quite quickly whereas one winter I didn't see green grass for about 3 months. Make of all this what you will.