Yellow alert issued for 16 counties and Bucharest as snow and strong winds return this weekend

The National Meteorological Administration (ANM) issued on Friday, February 20, a yellow weather warning for strong winds, significant precipitation including snowfall, and blizzard conditions affecting 16 counties and Bucharest until Sunday morning. The alert is valid from February 20 at 12:00 PM until February 22 at 10:00 AM.

Forecasters warned of wind intensification, heavy precipitation, freezing rain, snowfall, and drifting snow in the affected areas.

Thus, from Friday afternoon through Saturday evening, winds are expected to strengthen initially in southern Moldova, Muntenia, and the Curvature Carpathians, later extending to southeastern Oltenia and Dobrogea, with gusts of 50-60 km/h and locally up to 65-70 km/h.

Starting Friday night, mixed precipitation is forecast, leading to icy surfaces in some areas before turning into snowfall across most of the country, except along the Black Sea coast, where rain will prevail. Blizzard conditions are expected in parts of the southeast, reducing visibility below 100 metres.

The meteorologists said accumulated precipitation could reach 15-30 litres per square metre, with uneven snow cover generally between 15 and 20 centimetres.

A broader weather advisory warns of moderate precipitation nationwide, with rain in Banat and Crișana, snowfall in Moldova and mountainous areas, and snow becoming dominant in most regions from Friday evening into Sunday morning.

Temperatures are expected to drop sharply, particularly in northern Moldova, where daytime highs on Friday will range between -3 and 2 degrees Celsius. Overnight lows could fall to -12 degrees in northern Moldova and northeastern Transylvania, while Saturday will bring particularly cold weather to southern and eastern Romania, with maximum temperatures between -5 and 1 degrees Celsius.

A major snowstorm swept across southern and eastern Romania earlier this week, disrupting transport nationwide and prompting emergency warnings in the capital on Wednesday morning. Bucharest and the surrounding Ilfov county were among the hardest hit areas, where heavy snowfall was forecast to reach up to 50 cm.

(Photo source: Inquam Photos / Alexandru Nechez)