A True Winter Wonderland Over in Northwest Croatia! (credit: Skijalište Sljeme via Meteo Europe)

DISCUSSION: As a slow-moving low pressure system made its way through parts of south-central Europe, a major winter blast hit several countries which included (but were not limited to) Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, etc.  As you can clearly see in the footage above (courtesy of Skijalište Sljeme), this was quite an impressive snowfall event which enveloped the regional landscape in white with at least 1 to 2 feet (0.3 to 0.6 meters).  Hence, even with a well-forecast winter storm, it is always imperative to respect the power of Mother Nature since during heavy snowfall events at higher elevations (such as in the vicinity of mountain ridges) there are often prolonged periods of heavy snowfall rates on the order of 2 to 4 inches per hour.  Hence, when positioned in a region being threatened by an intense snowfall event, one should always take winter storm forecast seriously and at their word.

To learn more about other high-impact weather events from across Europe, be sure to click here!

~Meteorologist Jordan Rabinowitz