Severe winter weather grips large parts of Romania

Wintry weather is set to cover large parts of Romania on Monday, January 5, and a Yellow Code for severe weather started at 10 AM, coupled with an Orange Code for heavy snowfall in mountain areas. Car traffic will also be impacted in almost half of the country.

According to the National Meteorological Administration cited by ProTV, until Tuesday, January 6 at 10:00 AM, in Banat, Crișana, Maramureș, Transylvania, Moldova, northern Oltenia, and northeastern Muntenia, there will initially be snowfall and sleet, followed by mixed precipitation (rain, sleet, and locally snow), which will favor the formation of ice deposits and glazed ice.

A snow layer of 10-20 cm will form in the mountains, and the same regions will be battered by winds of 70-85 km/h at altitudes above 1,700 meters. Due to blizzard-like conditions, visibility will be reduced.

The Orange Code will be valid in the same period in the mountainous areas of the counties of Caraș-Severin, Mehedinți, Gorj, and Hunedoara, especially at altitudes above 1,400 meters. Heavy snowfall will continue at times, and the newly deposited snow layer will be 20–30 cm (water equivalent of 20–30 l/sq m). At the same time, in high-altitude areas, there will be gusts of 80–90 km/h.

Car traffic in 19 counties will be impacted by the weather, as the roadway will be partially covered with snow. Snowfall is already reported in the counties of Arad, Argeș, Bacău, Brașov, Buzău, Caraș-Severin, Cluj, Covasna, Dâmbovița, Gorj, Harghita, Hunedoara, Mehedinți, Mureș, Neamț, Prahova, Sibiu, Suceava, and Vrancea.

Extreme weather has already caused road blockages, emergency interventions, and dangerous situations in several areas of the country. Traffic was stopped on national roads in the counties of Harghita, Alba, and Caraș-Severin after trees brought down by snow fell onto the roadway or after heavy vehicles skidded. In the mountains, the avalanche risk has increased significantly, and a large avalanche occurred in the Făgăraș Mountains.

Moreover, almost 50,000 people in the counties of Harghita and Alba were left without electricity, and approximately 8,000 households have no drinking water due to the weather. ANM specified that there will be precipitation in all regions and that the amounts of water will be significant locally until Friday, January 9.

Over the weekend of January 3-4, mountain rescuers in the county of Bihor recovered six Hungarian tourists who were stranded in the Padiș region. Military firefighters from Brașov intervened to remove several trees and construction elements detached from buildings following strong winds, the Brașov Inspectorate for Emergency Situations reported. Similarly, firefighters from Sibiu County intervened on Saturday morning in several localities to remove trees and a pole knocked down by strong winds.