IMGW issues first-degree snow warning for Lower Silesia as Arctic cold moves into Poland

Snow warning for the Sudetes

The Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) has issued a first-degree warning for intensive snowfall in parts of south-western Poland. The alert covers five districts in Lower Silesia: lwówecki, karkonoski, Jelenia Góra, kamiennogórski and wałbrzyski, including the areas around Jelenia Góra and Szklarska Poręba in the Karkonosze and Western Sudetes. It takes effect at 21:00 on Monday, 2 November, and remains in force until 10:00 on Tuesday, 3 November. Above 700 metres above sea level, snowfall is forecast to temporarily add up to about 10 cm to the snow cover. Radio Wrocław reports that snow has already fallen on the higher parts of the Karkonosze, and that the snow cover on Śnieżka is currently about 10 cm deep.

Conditions in the mountains

Figures cited by the Karkonosze National Park put the temperature on Śnieżka at about -5°C, feeling like roughly -14°C, with gusts of 42 km/h. On Szrenica, daytime temperatures are expected to reach about -2°C, with a perceived temperature near -6°C and gusts up to roughly 26 km/h. Complete cloud cover, fog and possible snowfall are forecast for both peaks. Forecasters expect the maximum temperature on Śnieżka to hover around zero degrees Celsius early in the week, with conditions turning slightly milder from Thursday, 5 November.

Roads, hiking and wider weather

IMGW warned that the snowfall could make roads and mountain trails harder to use.

“We appeal for caution! Road surfaces may be slippery, and conditions during mountain hikes are difficult.”

The coverage advises drivers to take their foot off the accelerator, keep their full attention on the road and signs, drive more slowly, avoid overtaking and keep vehicle lights working. Fog could cut visibility to as little as 200 metres in places overnight and on Tuesday morning, particularly in the north. Elsewhere, cloud is forecast to dominate on Monday with light rain or drizzle in places. Tuesday, 3 November, is expected to bring highs of 6 to 9°C over most of Poland, up to 10°C in the west and 12°C by the sea, while gusts in the Sudetes could reach 70 km/h.

Colder air from midweek

A low-pressure system moving over eastern Europe, combined with an anticyclone, is expected to draw Arctic air down from the north. Cooling is expected to set in from Wednesday, 4 November. From 5 to 11 November, the first frosts are forecast at night and in the morning, with lows of -1 to -10°C and locally down to -15°C near the ground and in foothill and mountain areas. The cold may last into the second ten days of November, when daytime highs could reach only 3 to 9°C. The lowest temperatures are expected in southern and eastern Poland, and snow could add 5 to 8 cm to the snow cover in the Sudetes above 600 metres.