Cold and wintry weather to grip much of Europe during start of 2021

Much of Europe will ring in the start of 2021 with the same type of weather that 2020 ended on - unsettled, cold and, at times, snowy.

A storm will provide heavy rain and mountain snow from Italy into the western Balkans through the weekend. Unlike recent storms that largely spared parts of central Europe from snow, Roys added that, “A piece of this storm will break off and move northward Saturday night into Monday bringing accumulating snow to parts of eastern France, central and northern Germany, Czechia and western Poland.”

Some of the hills near the coast of southern France may have snowflakes mix with the rain, though accumulations are most likely reserved for the higher terrain just inland. In elevations over 300 meters (about 1,000 feet), a small and slushy accumulation is possible.

Heavier snow will fall across the Alps and Apennines where accumulations of 30-60 cm (1-2 feet) are expected. An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 90 cm (3 feet) is expected in the Alps. With the snow level below the passes, travel could be very difficult or impossible at times.

To the south of this snow, rain will soak western Italy, Corsica and Sardinia into Saturday night. Rainfall is generally expected to be 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) in these areas, though up to 100 mm (4 inches) can fall along the southwestern coast of Italy.

Wind gusts of 30-40 mph are expected to accompany the rain across much of the central Mediterranean.

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This rain and wind will also spread into areas from Croatia to Albania over the weekend and can turn heavy in some areas. Recent storms have brought heavy rain to much of the eastern Adriatic Coast during the month of December and rivers are already running high. Rainfall of 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) across this region could more easily lead to flooding. Roys warns than an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ rainfall of 150 mm (6 inches) is possible.

Some of the most flood-threatened areas are from southern Croatia to northern Albania, which have received in excess of 380 mm (15 inches) of rain during December. Podgorica, Montenegro, was one of the wettest areas and received 486 mm (19.15 inches) of rain during the month, which is nearly seven times their normal December rainfall.

“As the moisture spreads northward into the cold air across central Europe, snow will develop across parts of eastern France, central and northern Germany into Czechia and western Poland," Roys said.

While precipitation is not expected to be as heavy in these areas as farther to the south, colder air will cause whatever snow that does fall to settle on surfaces, including roadways.

With the snow that falls from late Saturday night and through Sunday night across portions of Germany and Poland, below-freezing temperatures can lead to slick roadways. Snow accumulations in these areas can reach 8-15 cm (3-6 inches) by Monday morning.

Anyone venturing out on Sunday or Monday morning may want to allow for extra time or perhaps delay driving.

Snow is also expected to fall across the Carpathian Mountains and accumulate 3-8 cm (1-3 inches) Sunday into Monday. This will cause slick travel conditions.

Cold and unsettled conditions are expected to remain across a large portion of Europe through the upcoming week.

Roys said, “A potential storm later in the week could bring another round of rain and snow to not only the central Mediterranean, but also portions of Spain and Portugal as it tracks eastward from the Atlantic.”

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