Romanians put on sunglasses and flocked to outdoor cafes after near-record temperatures hit southern parts of the country with highs of 23C in some places.
But even as it warmed up after days of cooler weather, and people took off coats and sweaters and turned off the heating, it rapidly cooled as night fell.
The warmest temperatures were in southern Romania, with a balmy 23C in Ploiesti and nearby Campina, and 22C in Targoviste, in southern Romania, and Otopeni, just north of the capital.
However, the sharp rise in daytime temperatures meant there was a sharp difference of up to 25 Celsius between daytime highs and nighttime lows, the National Meteorological Administration said.
The warm weather doesn’t herald the start of spring, forecasters warned. It will get colder over the weekend in the capital with a maximum of 15C and rain forecast for Saturday and a high of 9C predicted for Sunday.
It wasn’t balmy everywhere in Romania on Friday either. In the Danube port of Sulina in far eastern Romania, it was less than 10C on Friday lunchtime for example.
It fell to -4C in the central town of Miercurea Ciuc overnight Thursday, while in the western town of Siria it was a cozy 12 C overnight.
Winter weather was felt in the mountains. Heavy snow 2.11 meters deep blanketed Balea Lake, while there was 10cm of snow in the mountain resort of Predeal.
The record high for February was 26C in the eastern town of Medgidia on February
27, 1995.
Bucharest recorded a high of 25.7 ºC on February 16, 2016 and the B;ack Sea port of Constanta registered 24.5 C in February 2019.
In 1990, 1994, 1995 and 2016, there were temperatures of over 19C during the month of February.
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