Cold front shifted Lake Balaton: the water level difference was unbelievably high

The cold front reached Lake Balaton on Friday and caused a serious shift in the lake’s water level. The difference measured between the two parts of the ‘Hungarian Sea’ reached 51 centimetres.

According to Infóstart, the average water level of Lake Balaton was 98 centimetres on Friday. However, the extreme values of that average were astonishingly high: 80 centimetres in Balatonfűzfő and 132 centimetres in Balatonmáriafürdő.

Ákos Horváth, leader of the Siófok observatory, told HírBalaton that the strongest wind blew at 90 km/h on 10 January. In a historical comparison, that is not regarded as very high. Mr Horváth said wind speed, wind direction and durability determine whether the lake gets shifted. He added that, regularly, southwestern winds cause higher shifts in the Balaton’s water level, but this cold front arrived from the North.