Bulgaria issues weather warnings over heavy rain forecast for November 29
Bulgaria’s national meteorological bureau has issued the Code Orange warning of dangerous weather for November 29 for several districts forecast to see heavy rain.
The districts subject to the Code Orange warning are Plovdiv, Smolyan, Kurdzhali, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Turgovishte, Veliko Turnovo and Gabrovo.
The lesser Code Yellow warning of potentially dangerous weather has been issued for several other districts, also because of forecast heavy rain: Pazardzhiik, Lovech, Yambol, Bourgas, Varna, Dobrich, Silistra, Rousse and Shoumen.
The remaining districts are classified Code Green for November 29, meaning that no weather warning is in place.
The meteorological bureau said on November 28 that over the next 24 hours, the weather in the country will remain cloudy with rain. At higher altitudes, the rain briefly will be mixed with snow.
In mountain passes in the western part of the Stara Planina mountain range, above 1300 metres the rain will turn into snow.
Temperatures will be in the 4°-6° Celsius range in places in western Bulgaria to 11°-13° in the eastern and extreme southwestern regions. In Sofia, the minimum temperature will be around 2°, and the maximum, about 5°.
In the mountains, maximum temperature at an altitude of 1200 metres will be about 4°, at 2000 metres, about 0°.
It will be cloudy and rainy along the Black Sea coast. A moderate wind will blow from the east, in the evening it will orient itself from the northwest and will strengthen along the northern coast. The maximum temperatures will be 14°-15°, the same as the sea water temperature, the meteorological bureau said.
The Road Infrastructure Agency said on November 28 that it is appealing to motorists who are planning to travel through the high-mountainous regions in the coming days to set off with vehicles prepared for winter conditions.
The meteorologists’ forecast shows that in the mountainous areas, the rain may turn into snow, which increases the chances of icing and slipperiness, especially early in the morning, when temperatures are also lower, the agency said.
It said that regional road departments are monitoring the synoptic forecasts and are ready to take the necessary actions to treat the pavements in the high-mountain regions and the passes.
The goal is to start preventive and then snow removal activities as quickly as possible to ensure the passability of the roads.
The priority is the motorways, the busiest routes on the first-class and second-class road network and the passes providing connections between northern and southern Bulgaria.
“Motorists are required to drive with increased caution and at a reasonable speed, keeping a safe distance, not making sudden maneuvers, and not overtaking specialised machines that are working on the road surfaces. Blocking traffic by vehicles that are not prepared for winter conditions makes it difficult for all other drivers to travel and for snow removal equipment to work,” the Road Infrastructure Agency said.
