It wasn’t a lot but there was enough snow for the Romanian capital to officially declare its fist White Christmas in 13 years.
White Christmas in Bucharest
The flakes began to fall in the Capital at nightfall, accompanied by a strong, cold wind and rain. Then, little by little, throughout the night, the snow settled on the ground, so that by Christmas morning Bucharest residents were greeted by a blanket of white covering the streets, cars and trees.
Snow was common in the past, but the last time the capital had a White Christmas was in 2012.
In the last 30 years, Bucharest has had snow at Christmas nine times, meteorologists said.
Residents shouldn’t get their sledges out too quicky though. The National Meteorological Administration (ANM) expects it to last for just 24 hours.
The atmospheric pressure will increase, the sky will gradually clear, and temperatures will rise, but it will remain cold.
Maximum temperatures will be around -1 C and it will drop to -6 degrees C overnight, forecasters said.
White Christmas, increasingly rare in Romania
If a White Christmas in Bucharest is becoming a rarity, inhabitants are luckier in other cities.
Towns near the Carpathians Mountains, such as Sibiu, Brașov or Cluj, are used to snow in December as are residents in the northern city of Iasi and Romania’s coldest city, Miercurea Ciuc.
Sibiu there had snow at Christmas 12 times in the last three decades, while Cluj and Iasi had it 15 times. That’s better than Bucharest but still fewer snowier holidays than in 1970s and 1980s.
Romania offers discounts on ‘Snow Trains’ to the Carpathians to boost winter tourism
