Week 10: Extreme Weather in Romania

Extreme Weather in Romania

Like other countries in south-east Europe, Romania has a temperate continental climate, with very warm summers and cold, snowy winters.

The article Storm Mathis Brings Extreme Weather To Romania: Snow, Rain And Cold Expected, discusses how Romania recently during its cold months which is in its peak in January experienced extreme weather. The cold, rainfalls and even snowfalls take over Romania. The Mathis storm that swept a large part of Europe arrives at night in our country. Meteorologists have already issued warnings of cold weather, heavy snow and strong winds. The temperatures will not exceed 10 degrees in the following days, and there will be a blizzard in the mountains and a consistent layer of snow will be deposited.

The National Meteorological Administration (ANM) announced that, starting Monday night, a code yellow alert of significant precipitation, snow, wind intensification and particularly cold weather will come into effect in most of the country. 

Meteorologists have issued another Code Orange warning for the period April 4, 02:00 – April 4, 22:00, for the Southern Carpathians and the southern Eastern Carpathians, especially at altitudes above 1400 m, where heavy snow is expected. 

This storm is very very recent but this weather behavior is not out of the ordinary. In January 2014, severe blizzards shut down the south-east of the country. Summer heatwaves can also be extreme: in 2012, temperatures rose to 42C, causing a number of excess deaths.

Precipitation is fairly low away from the mountain ranges such as the Carpathians, and occurs mostly during spring and summer, sometimes accompanied by thunderstorms. Winds often blow from the Russian steppes to the north and east; they can be bone-chillingly cold in winter but very hot and dry in summer.

Romania’s only coastline is a stretch running for 141 miles (225km) along the western shores of the Black Sea. Here, conditions are less extreme than elsewhere in the country, with considerably less rainfall, making resorts such as Constanta a popular holiday destination.

References: 

Storm Mathis Brings Extreme Weather To Romania: Snow, Rain And Cold Expected

Romania’s extreme conditions: from Danube-freezing winters to 42C summers