Heavy snowfall causes delays, disruptions; extreme cold expected, Operative Body established

According to the latest weather forecasts, extreme conditions and heavy snowfall are expected in the coming days. In response, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has decided to set up an Operative Body, led by Interior Minister Sándor Pintér, to coordinate protection measures against the severe weather and heavy snow. Meanwhile, reports are coming in one after another about congestion, delays in public transport, significant snowfall and warnings of extreme cold.

Operative Body set up by the government to manage snow situation

According to MTI, the Emergency Task Force includes: the Prime Minister’s Chief National Security Adviser, the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Construction and Transport, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Public Administration and Regional Development, the Defence Administration Office, the Hungarian Defence Forces, HungaroMET Zrt., the National Police Headquarters, the National Directorate General for Disaster Management, the Counter Terrorism Centre, the National Hospital Directorate General, the National Ambulance Service, Magyar Közút Zrt. and senior staff from the MÁV–Volán Group.

Everyone is asked to follow the information published on the following websites with particular attention: HungaroMet, Útinform and katasztrofavedelem.hu.

Road and rail disruption on the first day of snowfall

• Traffic has slowed along the entire length of the M0 ring road, as well as on the M2 and M51 main roads, due to heavy snowfall.
• Journey times are longer on the Budapest–Vác–Szob and Budapest–Veresegyház–Vác railway lines because of a points failure.
• On the M1 motorway and Main Road 1, in the Biatorbágy area, accidents and poor road conditions are causing serious delays of more than 40–60 minutes on the affected bus services.
• In parts of Tolna and Baranya counties, some bus services are running with increased journey times due to the snow.

Weather conditions are expected to deteriorate further in the coming days. Significant snowfall is forecast for this week, meaning travellers should be prepared for more serious delays and disruption.

Hungarian Defence Forces ready for winter emergencies

The Hungarian Defence Forces are prepared to deal with situations caused by severe winter weather and, if necessary, stand ready to carry out tasks to protect the population’s safety, Chief of Defence Staff Colonel General Gábor Böröndi announced. He added that, in order to maintain rapid response capability, detailed weather forecasts are produced every six hours, broken down by region. These forecasts make it possible to tailor the military response to the meteorological situation so that the most effective combination of capabilities can be deployed, in the shortest possible time, to protect the public.

Read also:

• Arctic frost grips Hungary: up to 30 cm of snow set to blanket regions amid very low temps!
• Warning issued! Hungary braces for snowfall and freezing rain of a magnitude not seen in ages