The season’s first snowfall surprised Hungary this morning – photos, videos

Snowfall has arrived in Hungary today. Yesterday’s weather in Hungary felt as if summer had returned. Huge dark clouds covered the sky, lightning lit up many regions, some areas experienced hail, while others captured rainbows. However, on Kékestető and in the Bükk mountains, the first snow of the season fell overnight.

Summer showers, hurricane-force winds and mammatus clouds

By morning, our highest peak, the 1014-metre Kékestető, was dusted with fine powdery snow, as was Bánkút in the Bükk.

During the day, unusually strong thunderstorms dominated, bringing incredible hurricane-strength gusts. For example, Kalocsa recorded winds reaching 113 km/h. Some places saw hail, others enjoyed rainbows, and many received sudden summer-like downpours, accompanied by pleasant warm temperatures and lightning. HungaroMet even issued an orange alert for several regions in the Great Plain yesterday afternoon.

Here is a video of yesterday’s hailstorm:

And here are some pictures of the rainbows, which were particularly spectacular due to the low position of the sun:

Yesterday nearly broke the national daily temperature record, with many places enjoying temperatures between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius.

• Hungary prepares for a cold front: Arctic temperatures and even snowfall may arrive

In the afternoon, mammatus clouds also appeared. These formations may signal approaching severe storms, heavy rain, strong winds, hail, turbulence, lightning, or even tornadoes—though these are rare in Hungary. If you see them, it’s wise to seek shelter immediately.