Several days of snow brought avalanche risk at Christmas, as wintry weather also caused four deaths in India. A snowstorm developed across the Alps on Saturday 21 December due to a low-pressure system situated over the Adriatic Sea. This depression allowed relatively warm and moist air to push into the Alps, condensing and falling as snow as it met the much colder alpine air mass. Snowfall continued for several days, allowing some of the peaks to see well over 1 metre of snow, with significant snowfall also seen across many ski villages. Consequently, there was a significant avalanche risk over the Christmas period.
Ski resorts in Bulgaria also experienced significant snow starting on Christmas Day, which caused disruption in the mountainous west, where ski resorts had to temporarily shut down due to road closures. Towns such as Troyan, Samokov and Teteven were particularly badly affected with snowdrifts and power failures.
Meanwhile, in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, heavy snowfall on Monday caused four deaths. The town of Rohru received the highest snowfall with 24cm, followed by the towns of Sangla and Shillai which received 16.5cm and 15.3cm respectively. More than 200 roads were closed across the state, with more than 1,000 vehicles stuck near the Atal tunnel in Manali, leading to a 12-hour rescue operation.
Earlier this week, a low-pressure system brought heavy rain and strong winds across Fiji, causing substantial flooding. New Zealand’s meteorological agency said that 130mm of rain fell within 24 hours from 3pm on Christmas Eve to 3pm on Christmas Day.
