Forecasters warn that snowfall continues throughout Southern Bulgaria, NOVA reported.
This morning, the first snow of the season fell in Plovdiv, Haskovo, Dimitrovgrad and Yambol.
A significant snow cover is expected throughout the Rila-Rhodope zone. In Smolyan and Kardzhali regions, it will accumulate up to 30-40 centimeters. Temporary traffic restrictions are in place due to snow removal. There is also a risk to power supply in places where there is the most snow.
540 snow removal machines are processing the pavements of the republican road network, the RIA reported. Snowfall is occurring in the districts of Blagoevgrad, Plovdiv, Burgas, Lovech, Sliven, Stara Zagora, Veliko Tarnovo, Gabrovo, Kyustendil, Vratsa, Sofia, Pernik, Pazardzhik, Haskovo, Yambol and Smolyan. Heavy snowfall is also occurring in the passes “Troyanski“, “Shipka“, “Petrohan“ and the Republic Pass.
Due to heavy snowfall, the movement of all motor vehicles on some of the second-class and third-class roads in Pazardzhik district is temporarily restricted. These are road III-842 Belovo-Yundola, road II-84 Velingrad to the border with Blagoevgrad district and road II-37 Batak-Dospat. The passage of heavy goods vehicles on road III-865 Ardino-Kardzhali in Kardzhali district is temporarily restricted. In Smolyan district, the movement of vehicles with trailers and semi-trailers is restricted. The processing of pavements continues.
In Sofia:
170 machines are carrying out processing by spreading mixtures and cleaning snow on streets and boulevards, steep sections and bridges.
A total of 170 snowplows have been cleaning the streets in the capital this night
Snow also in Plovdiv:
70 machines are clearing Plovdiv of snow. 26 machines are currently processing the main roads. 40 snowplows are being included in stages, with 10 of them already on the ground. Initially, the main roads will be processed. Later, the machines will enter the inner neighborhood streets. The heavy snowfall in Plovdiv began around 04:00 this morning.
On the „Shipka” pass:
There was heavy snowfall and partial icing this morning on the „Shipka” pass. It is closed year-round to heavy trucks.
This morning the situation was more severe on the northern side of the pass, where there was partial icing and a lot of snow. By 11:00 the pass was completely cleared. Six machines are working on site.
The snowfall has been continuing for more than 24 hours.
On the „Predela” pass:
According to information from the RIA, the traffic on „Predela” is closed to heavy trucks over 12 tons for cleaning the road section.
In Haskovo:
The entire road network in Haskovo district is passable in winter conditions. The pavements are wet, but there is no accumulation of snow cover or drifts, the Regional Road Administration reported to BTA. It is snowing throughout the region, and temperatures are from 1 to 4 degrees.
A total of 35 machines are currently engaged in de-icing and cleaning the roads. The "Maritsa" highway is on asphalt, the press center of the regional administration specified. In response to a query from BTA, they replied that there is currently no data on settlements without electricity in the region.
The major boulevards in the city of Haskovo are being cleaned. Four sand spreaders with rakes and a heavy machine “Landini“ are on the scene. Two excavators and two T-150 machines with rakes are on standby, which are activated in case of heavy snowfall and emergency situations.
In Haskovo at 10:37 a.m. the snow cover was 5 centimeters, the local hydrometeorological observatory said.
In Pazardzhik:
All roads in the Pazardzhik region are passable in winter conditions, there are no closed roads, BTA correspondent in Pazardzhik Gergana Kurtakova reported. Mainly, the main roads, where traffic is more intense, are being cleaned.
The traffic situation in the Pazardzhik region is normal, said Miroslav Stoyanov, spokesman for the Regional Directorate (RD) of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Pazardzhik after the snowfall in the region.
There is no information about people stranded or in distress. The police and fire brigade teams have so far received only one signal, which is about a fallen tree near Velingrad, he explained.
The snow cover is the smallest on the territory of the municipalities of Septemvri, Belovo and Pazardzhik, and the largest - in Velingrad and Batak.