Autumn winter attack in Poland. Will Christmas be white?

The last few days have brought unexpected snowfall, strong gales and frost locally reaching even -15°C. In many regions of the country there have been car accidents, and more than 60,000 people were left without power. Meteorologists say that winter will start intensely this year, and that the Christmas weather may be a pleasant surprise.

Snowy November weekend

Heavy snowfall on Sunday was felt mainly in the Podkarpackie, Małopolskie and Lubelskie voivodeships. By 3 p.m. the State Fire Service had intervened more than 2,000 times.

In Podkarpacie severe icing and damage to power lines occurred. As a result, 37,000 residents were still without electricity this morning. In Małopolska a similar failure left more than 30,000 people without power yesterday. The winter attack also caused a power failure at the combined heat and power plant in Gorlice, resulting in disruptions to the heating and hot water supply.

In Kraków the Municipal Transport Company reported this morning that some bus routes were shortened and that there were serious delays on connections with surrounding towns in the metropolitan area. Difficult road conditions also prevailed yesterday in the Lublin region, where several dangerous collisions occurred, and the S12 expressway was blocked in one direction for several hours.

After 9 a.m. this morning on the S8 road from Warsaw to Wrocław a pile-up occurred, killing four people. Conditions are also dangerous on the A4 motorway, where the asphalt is covered in places with black ice.

Winter attack does not subside – IMGW warns

The current winter attack is the result of a low-pressure system that arrived over Poland on Friday. The heaviest snowfall was recorded on Sunday night and in the morning – locally even up to 30 cm of snow.
The Government Security Centre warns that difficult road conditions and power outages may continue throughout the day. Blizzards and snowstorms are expected especially in the districts of Gorlice, Nowy Sącz, the city of Nowy Sącz, Bieszczady, Jasło, Krosno, Krosno district, Lesko and Sanok – residents in all these areas have received phone alerts about the danger.

The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management – National Research Institute says that in the foothill and mountain regions snow can be expected throughout the day. At night the precipitation will turn into freezing rain, which may cause black ice on the roads. Gusty winds in the Sudetes may reach speeds of up to 110 km/h.

The winter attack will last at least until Wednesday, but no significant warming is expected by the end of the week. The minimum temperature on Friday morning may drop to –8°C.

Early forecasts for December

Although the calendar winter has not yet begun, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) says that already in mid-December another low-pressure system will move over Poland with frost and snowfall that will be felt especially in the south of the country. American GFS models additionally predict the development of a cyclone over Europe at the end of the month, which may result in snowstorms just in time for Christmas.

According to long-term forecasts from IMGW-PIB, December will be wetter than the long-term average, and especially in the third decade of the month more abundant precipitation can be expected. The average air temperature is expected to range from -3°C in Zakopane to 1.6°C in Gdańsk.