First topic message reminder :

its snowing here in Burgas, has not stopped all day.
where are you in BG &
are you having snow?

Cold Spell Brings 1st Snow to Bulgaria's Capital Sofia

Bulgaria's capital Sofia woke up Sunday to the first snowfall this season, after a mid-October cold spell overtook the country.

The winter arrived early in Bulgaria with the mercury expected to hit minus 7 degrees Celsius in western Bulgaria and nearly hurricane winds on the Black Sea coast and the entire eastern Bulgaria where there will be a mix of rain and snow. The wind and the precipitations are expected to pick even more strength Sunday evening into Monday, particularly in the eastern parts.

The cold spell is expected to last until Tuesday, which will be the chilliest day. Temperatures are not going to reach above 10 degrees, even during the warmest time of the day and in southern Bulgaria.

Code yellow has been declared for eleven Bulgarian regions Sunday over the forecast for downpours and gusty winds.

The forecast has been issued by the Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BAS.

Code yellow means potentially dangerous weather, where the forecast is not for unusual meteorological events, but requires people to exercise caution.

The warning includes the Sliven, Yambol, Burgas, Varna, Razgrad, Silistra, Dobrich, Kardzhali, Haskovo, Shumen and Targovishte Regions.

East Bulgaria Calls Code Orange for Extreme Weather Monday

Code orange for dangerous weather has been declared Monday for Dobrich, Varna and Burgas regions, announced the Bulgarian national weather service.

Sunday the first snow fell in the Bulgarian west lowlands, with temperatures not reaching above 5 degrees Centigrade.

Monday intensive precipitation of rain and snow, as well as exceptionally strong winds are expected for the Bulgarian east end, along the Black Sea coast.

A more moderate code yellow has been issued for Haskovo, Yambol, Sliven, Shumen and Silistra regions, also in the eastern part of the country, announced the National Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

Tuesday a warming up of the weather is expected, with sun setting in and temperatures going back to the normal for the fall, with highs reaching around 15 C.

Over the course of Sunday, a number of roads across the country experienced obstructions due to the unexpected snowfall.

if my roof is still on tomorrow i will be happy, what a day, the wind is fierce and unrelenting, winter has arrived early. wheres the sun [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I know what you mean starlite its been an terrible day today and tomorrow looks even worse I can't remember winter coming this early for a long time.

I've always found the weather mixed in October but never as bad as it is at the moment I think its something to do with the way we all mess about with our planet.

Gusty Winds Cause Damage in Eastern Bulgaria


Code orange for dangerous weather remains effective Monday for Dobrich, Varna and Burgas regions, announced the Bulgarian national weather service.

Code orange means intense weather situations with potential damage, injuries and casualties, and it has been currently declared over the threat of downpours and very gusty northern winds.

Code yellow has also been declared for another 5 Bulgarian regions Monday.

The warning includes the Sliven, Yambol, Silistra, Haskovo, and Shumen Regions.

Code yellow means potentially dangerous weather, where the forecast is not for unusual meteorological events, but requires people to exercise caution.

The forecast has been issued by the Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BAS.

The port of the Black Sea city of Varna is completely closed over the strong winds and very high waves, Darik radio further informs. There are many broken branches and fallen trees in the city, but no injuries have been reported. The branches are not impeding traffic since teams of Civil Defense and firefighters have been removing them all through the night, however, traffic problems have been created by numerous large puddles on many of the main thoroughfares.

The Dobrich City Hall has issued a warning to all residents to beware of falling objects and branches over hurricane-like winds and is asking people to secure everything that is stored on the their balconies. Pedestrians must keep a safe distance from buildings, trees and electric poles. Drivers are also advised to park in open spaces – away from poles and trees.

The port of the other Black Sea city of Burgas is also closed.

There are power outages in many locations.

The "
Mountain Pass of the Republic"
is closed for traffic in order to remove the heavy snow cover that accumulated overnight.

Precipitations in eastern Bulgaria are expected to reach 50 litres per square meter.

The weather all over Bulgaria is winter-like with minimum temperatures of 0 to 5 degrees Celsius and maximum between 3 and 8 degrees.

Roads are wet and drivers must exercise caution. There is accumulated snow at a number of mountain passes in Stara Planina.

sallyann wrote:

I know what you mean starlite its been an terrible day today and tomorrow looks even worse I can't remember winter coming this early for a long time.

For us living down here in south west Turkey which is regarded as the Turkish Riviera, the weather has been no better than yours. Trees have been toppled, together with balcony roofs laying in the road after having been blown from the top of the buildings. As for Winters here in this "
tropical paradise"
the property walls are 9 inches thick and built with molocure bricks, so in the height of the Winter heat is being blasted around our properties but we may as well be living in a paper house. BG here we come!!

Eastern Bulgaria Alert over Torrential Rains

Incessant torrential days have led the Bulgarian authorities to declare a Code "
Yellow"
alert for Eastern Bulgaria.

The alert refers to three southeastern and two northeastern districts – Burgas, Yambol, Haskovo, Dobrich and Varna.

The National Institute of Hydrology and Meteorology has advised extreme caution over the meteorological conditions in Eastern and Southeastern Bulgaria.

Meanwhile, the Ruen Municipality in the Burgas District declared an emergency situation over flooding in a number of houses in the municipality.

Fire brigade units have saved a man from drowning along the Bulgarian-Turkish border, while most of the roads in Bulgaria's southeast – between the towns of Sredets and Elhovo – have been closed over the torrential rains.

The Lesovo crossing on the Turkish border was also briefly shut earlier on Monday.

The last 24 hours have seen torrential rain here, garden flooded, i have never in 5 years seen so much rain and wind as this, there is no where left for the rain to go only up :shocked1:finally stopped at eleven tonight. unbelievable :m4:

The problem for us is the wind - it is relentless. Unfortunately it has damaged my chimney so I can't use the central heating without the house filling with smoke.

My husband is away and the only other person who would dare go up on the roof to have a look is a 72 year old. The tiles have been too wet and the wind too strong for him to go up there today.....

Just hoping the wind will die down enough for him to go up there tomorrow, the electric rads are just not as effective as the heating. :C:I don't do cold.

Woken up to snow on the ground here today. Brrr! :Snow window:

[size=55:3gd8ftc5]novinite

Bad Weather Leaves Dozens Cars, Trucks Stuck in Bulgaria

More than one hundred travellers have been left stranded on the roads across Bulgaria as a relentless snow storm and gusty winds continued to pound the country during the night.

Dozens of accidents were reported on the slippery roads and police are advising drivers to stay at home.

Buses, cars, trucks and heavy vehicles have been blocked in the mountain pass Troyan-Karnare and Rishkiya pass, as well as near the town of Veliko Tarnovo.

There is a huge traffic jam at the Mountain Pass of the Republic, which was closed for traffic in order to remove the heavy snow cover that accumulated overnight.

Code yellow for potentially dangerous weather remains effective Tuesday for Dobrich, Varna, Burgas, Haskovo and Yambol regions, announced the Bulgarian national weather service.

Code yellow means potentially dangerous weather, where the forecast is not for unusual meteorological events, but requires people to exercise caution.

The port of the Black Sea city of Varna will remain closed over the strong winds and very high waves. There are many broken branches and fallen trees in the city, but no injuries have been reported.

The bad weather caused power outages in many locations primarily in Eastern and Northern Bulgaria.

[size=55:z5f0cblt]novinite

Forecasts Promise 'Gypsy Summer' Comeback in Bulgaria

Bulgaria will see a significant change in the weather on Tuesday afternoon after being hit by the first snow falls, rainy storms and gusty winds.

Long after the end of the summer heat, Bulgarians will be able to enjoy a few more days of the so-called Indian summer, which is here widely called 'Gypsy summer.'

The regions in Western and Central Bulgaria are expected to stay sunny throughout the day on Tuesday, with highs lingering around 11-13 degrees Centigrade. Lows have been set at 2-3 degrees.

Rescuers however advise against hiking in the Rodopi, Strandzha and Sakar mountains as there will be no stop to the high winds, snow falls and heavy precipitation there.

By the end of the day the warmer weather will be felt in Eastern Bulgaria and the Black Sea coast too, where the winds that caused much damage on Monday, will ease.

[size=55:17z1aee0]novinite

Bulgaria on Emergency Situation Brink over Winter Storm

The heavy snowfall in the last two days, accompanied by gusty winds and fallen trees and branches are causing a nearly critical situation in Bulgaria, according to the Head of the Road Infrastructure Agency, Lazar Lazarov.

Lazarov spoke Tuesday during an emergency press conference. He informed that all Stara Planina mountain passes are closed for traffic as a safety measure to avoid vehicles being stuck in the snow, in exception of Vitinya on the Hemus highway and the Pomorie pass on the Nessebar-Byala road in eastern Bulgaria.

Scores of buses, trucks, and cars are still blocked in southern, central and eastern Bulgaria Tuesday where huge traffic jams are reported. Hurricane-like winds have swept 6 auto-mobiles in the Black Sea city of Varna.

The Bulgarian news agency BTA reports that 6 buses with Romanian tourists are blocked in the Stara Planina Mountain Pass of the Republic where the snow cover has reached 60 cm. Teams of Civil Defence are on their way, but they cannot get in touch with the people in distress since there is no cell phone coverage in the area. Overnight, the teams pulled an ambulance which was stuck in the snow in the same pass.

3 buses from Sofia have also been rescued from the snow near the village of Balvan in the vicinity of the central city of Veliko Tarnovo.

The continuing snow and the large amount of fallen branches and trees are impeding cleaning and rescue efforts of teams who have worked all through the night and all morning.

The ports of Varna and of the other Black Sea city of Burgas are closed. Schools are also closed in Varna and in several coastal towns such as Balchik. Most Burgas schools, however, are holding classes.

Over the inclement weather, the entire eastern Bulgaria has been disconnected from the country's electric power network and electricity is currently provided only by the Varna Thermal Power Plant. Hundreds of locations in the regions of Burgas, Varna, Veliko Tarnovo. Dobrich, Kardzhali, Yambol. Plovdiv, Gabrovo, Stara Zagora, Sliven and Targovishte are without power.

5 express and 9 passenger trains are blocked at different rail road stations in eastern Bulgaria. At some locations the railways are impassable because of the snow cover, while at others there are power outages. Rescue teams are working in mass cleaning and repair operations.

People are advised to stay home and not undertake any travels unless there is an extreme emergency.

The State Railroads, BDZ, inform they will validate all purchased tickets for other dates or fill refund the money.

A 73-old man has died in the ambulance after being rescued from a snow blockade in the village of Lissovo, near Svilengrad and the Bulgarian-Turkish border.

Now 15 degrees C here with warm sunshine. Snow all gone. Strange weather!

[size=55:1ofp62n2]Sofia echo

Power cuts, road and rail disruption after heavy weather hits eastern Bulgaria

Heavy snow, rain and wind have left large parts of eastern Bulgaria hit by power cuts, road and rail disruptions, while a Code Yellow hazardous weather warning was in force in five regions of the country on October 18 2011.

Bulgaria's Black Sea ports of Varna and Bourgas were closed because of rough seas and high winds.

Civil defence officials urged people to check weather forecasts for Bulgaria before travelling.

The Interior Ministry said on October 18 that the bad weather had left 81 communities in eastern Bulgaria without electricity.

In the Dobrich area alone, 59 settlements were without power, while 35 in the Gabrovo area also had no electricity.

Bulgarian state railways BDZ said that train services in parts of north-eastern Bulgaria had been suspended because of bad weather that had left parts of lines impassable or that had caused power supply cuts.

The routes that had been suspended were Gorna Oryahovitsa – Dabovo;
Tsareva Livada – Gabrovo;
Razgrad – Pliska;
Slavyanovo – Strazhitsa;
Smyadovo – Komunari;
Podvis – Sindel;
Popovo – Dralfa, local news agency Focus quoted BDZ as saying.

There was heavy rainfall in the Shabla region overnight, measured at 52 litres a sq m, while there was 17 litres a sq m in Kaliakra, 19 litres a sq m in Dobrich and 211 litres a sq m in Veliko Turnovo.

Bulgaria's Road Infrastructure Agency said that it had received 271 reports related to traffic problems.

The Zlatishki Pass, Etropole - Zlatitsa and Tvarditsa - Elena roads were closed, reports on October 18 said.

Rescue teams had been called out to assist motorists stuck on the pass between the coastal towns of Obzor and Nessebur, Bulgarian National Television said.

Two lorries and two buses were reported to be stuck on the Kotel - Omurtag road.

Motorists were urged to drive carefully on the Bourgas to Malko Turnovo roads and on roads near the Bulgarian - Turkish border because of wet surfaces.

Razgrad woke up to 14cm of snow on the morning of October 18, according to bTV.

Snow cover in Veliko Turnovo was reported to be 9cm. BTV said that in the area of the village of Balvan near Veliko Turnovo, a large queue of lorries and cars had formed because roads had not been cleaned. The television station added that 50 to 60 cars were stuck in the Rishkiya Pass, where a snowstorm had raged throughout the previous night.

Schools in Varna and Balchik had been closed for the day, bTV said.

The weather forecast for October 18 for the Black Sea coast was for cloudy weather, with maximum temperatures of between nine and 10 degrees Celsius.