site.btaJanuary Forecast: Temperatures to Range between Minus 20 and 15C

The lowest temperatures in January in Bulgaria will be between minus 20C and minus 15C, on the Black Sea - between 10C and minus 5C, while the highest temperatures will be between 10C and 15C, said Krasimir Stoev, assistant professor at the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH), presenting the weather forecast for January.

In January, the average monthly temperature is expected to be around normal, which in northern Bulgaria and the high fields is between minus 2C and 1C, on the Black Sea coast, in the Upper Thracian lowland and along the Struma river valley - between 0C and 4C, and in the mountainous regions - between minus 10C and minus 3C.

The monthly precipitation is expected to be around and above the norm, which is between 30 and 70 l/sq m.

The month will start with warm and mostly sunny weather, with brief morning fogs in the lowlands. On January 4 and 5 the probability of precipitation and a decrease in temperatures will increase.

For most of the second ten days, the weather will be determined by a series of Mediterranean cyclones passing through or south of Bulgaria. There will be frequent snow. During the period, temperatures will be cooler than usual and precipitation will be above normal. After that the weather will be calm, anticyclonic; in places in the plains - foggy. Temperatures will rise relatively. In the second half of the period, the probability of precipitation and a significant decrease in temperatures increases.

January has seen the lowest temperatures in Bulgaria, with an absolute minimum of minus 38.3C on 7 January 1947 in Tran, Southwestern Bulgaria. January is most likely to have arctic air intrusions from the north, often forming Mediterranean cyclones and creating conditions for prolonged heavy snowfall - a typical winter. In northern and eastern Bulgaria this is often combined with strong northerly winds. There are snow blizzards, drifts, drifts form, which further complicates the winter situation. The average monthly number of days with snow cover is highest in Northwest Bulgaria - about 20, and lowest on the Black Sea coast - between 2 and 5. In January, there were also intense warming spells in which temperatures rose to 20C-23C, explains Stoev.