Sharp turn in Hungary’s weather brings significant dangers this weekend and next week

According to age-old folk wisdom, St Paul’s Day brings a dramatic turning point in Hungary’s weather – and the latest forecasts seem to back it up.

Sharp turn in Hungary’s biting cold

It’s been over a decade since Hungary last endured such a savage spell of cold, snow and ice as we’ve braved over the past month. The first nationwide snowfall hit on New Year’s Eve, 31 December, but the frosty, wintry grip lingered through the year’s opening weeks. Roads remain blanketed in snow and ice across much of the country, standing waters are frozen solid, and even the Danube demands icebreakers to shepherd cargo ships through.

Yet tomorrow’s St Paul’s Day promises a seismic shift concerning weather across the region. Forget any lingering winter snap; the thaw that kicked off yesterday will accelerate, driven by a balmy southerly flow sweeping over Hungary. Expect swelling puddles and, in spots, worsening flash flooding from meltwater. Experts warn it would be folly to let this winter’s gift—a Balaton’s worth of water locked in snow and ice—drain away from the Carpathian Basin. Better to hold onto it than rush the floodwaters out.

Black ice threat lingers today

Conditions today stay perishingly cold and foggy, but a fresh band of precipitation could unleash treacherous black ice in the western regions and Northern Hills. Motorists there, stay vigilant.