Bulgaria heads for chilly Liberation Day long weekend
Weather forecasts for Bulgaria’s long weekend around the March 3 Liberation Day national holiday foresee wintry conditions with rain and cloud in many parts of the country.
Because March 3 2018 is on a Saturday, Monday March 5 is a special public holiday, in terms of recently-amended laws on public holidays.
Whether staying at home or travelling, people in Bulgaria will still face wintry weather, but not the extremes of recent days that saw record-low temperatures in many places, along with heavy snowfall.
Those staying in capital Sofia face minimum temperatures on March 3 and 4 of zero or just above to maximums of six and four degrees on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Rain is forecast for both days. One bonus for residents and visitors, however, is that from March 3 to 5 inclusive, parking is free because the blue and green zone paid parking system is suspended for the duration.
Bulgaria’s second city Plovdiv is forecast to see mainly cloudy weather, with minimum temperatures of just below zero to zero from Saturday to Monday, rising to eight, seven and three degrees Celsius, respectively.
Black Sea city Varna is set for rainy to partly cloudy and later sunny weather, with maximum temperatures of five to six degrees in the second part of the long weekend. Bourgas will be rainy, with maximums ranging from eight to seven degrees from Saturday to Monday.
All three major ski resorts were forecast to see snowfall on March 2.
Bansko is set for temperatures in the positives throughout the weekend, ranging from nine to six degrees from Saturday to Monday. Borovets was forecast to see light snow on Saturday and rain on Sunday, with maximum temperatures of four to two degrees. For the third major Bulgarian ski resort, Pamporovo, the forecast was for cloudy weather on March 3, rain the following day and foggy weather on Sunday, with maximum temperatures of five degrees Celsius each day.
Bulgaria’s Road Infrastructure Agency said that because of expected sharp changes in weather conditions, snow melting and rainfall in the coming days, motorists should drive extremely carefully and at appropriate speeds. The agency warned of the danger of icing on the roads.
Road surfaces were being treated constantly, but for the safety of travellers, in the event of a serious change in conditions, the Road Infrastructure Agency and Traffic Police would halt the movement of vehicles in the affected area.
On March 2, there would be restrictions on the movement of lorries of more than 12 tons on the motorways and Bulgaria’s other busiest roads from 4pm to 8pm. Such vehicles also would be stopped at the end of the long weekend, from 2pm to 8pm on March 5.
On March 5, from 10am to 6pm, some outgoing lanes from Sofia would temporarily be changed to incoming lanes, to ease travel for motorists returning to the capital city, the Road Infrastructure Agency said.
(Photo: Morton Bech/sxc.hu)
