Romanian authorities have issued a Code Red for snow and blizzards for three counties in Romania, namely Buzau, Braila – the northern part and Vrancea, the southern area.

The layer of snow exceeded 50 centimeters in 24 hours in these areas, where many local roads are closed. In some areas villages are secluded because of the thick snow layer, and some regions witnesses power outages.

The Code Red was issued on Sunday at 15,00 (January 26) and was to be valid until 21,00 the same day, but meteorologists warn it could even be extended.

It is for the first time in Romania when authorities issue a Code Red for snow. In 2012, when the country was under heavy snow as well, not all conditions for issuing a Code Red were met at the same time. However, Codes Yellow, Orange and Red started to be used several years ago, so a comparison with previous years would not be fair.

Issuing a Code Red requires several cumulative conditions, including the risk of impossible circulation on roads, railways, by air or by water, villages risk being secluded, and the lives of villagers are endangered, as well as possible damages to forests, and electrical networks.

Most affected so far was the county of Buzau, where policemen do not allow drivers to enter the region. Many villages are still hard to reach, and authorities do not allow people to move from one village to the other, to prevent them from being stuck in the snow. People are advised to stay in as much as possible.

Schools will be out for two days in 27 counties, including the capital Bucharest, on Monday and Tuesday (January 27 and 28), because of the bad weather.

The counties affected by this decision are Argeș, Bacău, Botoșani, Brașov, Brăila, Buzău, Călărași, Constanța, Covasna, Dâmbovița, Dolj, Galați, Giurgiu, Gorj, Ialomița, Iași, Ilfov, Mehedinți, Neamț, Olt, Prahova, Suceava, Teleorman, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vâlcea, Vrancea. Three universities too will not organize courses on Monday, January 27: the Bucharest University, the Pitesti University and the Valahia University in Targoviste.

Authorities expect the wind to calm down on Monday, January 27, when the counties Vrancea, Galaţi, Buzău. Brăila, Tulcea, Ialomiţa, Călăraşi and Constanţa would go from Code Orange to Code Yellow. Villages in Dobrogea and Moldova will continue to be under Code Yellow for snow however.

After a short hiatus, it will re-start to snow on Wednesday and Thursday, January 29 and 30, in the same regions of southern Moldova, and the southern and south – east of the country.

The bad weather came after a few months of warmer than expected weather across all of Romania.

editor@romania-insider.com