A state of emergency has been declared in the snow hit region of Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria after the conditions became worse in some areas of Kurdzhali and Smolyan. Three young Bulgarian skiers were killed in an avalanche whilst skiing off-piste in the Pirin Mountain range located in Southern Bulgaria. The risk of avalanche was high due to the recent heavy snowfall.
Although the storm has moved away, but one can still expect another 20cm of snow in Southern Bulgarian Mountains before the system disintegrates completely. Melting snow has resulted in the rise of rivers and may also lead to flooding causing more problems to the residents.
Not only has the snowfall brought down trees but also caused power cut issues in at least 800 homes. In Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, it started snowing on Thursday and continued till the weekend. Though the snow has almost stopped now, the temperature still remains around zero degrees with light breeze and no sunshine. The ground is still covered with about 36 cm of powdered snow.
Mourgash, which lies at an elevation of 1600 m, has witnessed half a meter snow in the last 48 hours. Presently, the region is witnessing freezing fog. The temperature is -7 °C and the snow depth is about 80 cm. Also, there has been heavy and extensive snowfall in regions including the Hungarian Plain, Dinaric Alps, the Rhodope, the Carpathian Mountains, the Pindus ranges along with the Balkan Mountains.
