Ice storms

Unlike Christmas, when the weather in Bulgaria will be warm and sunny, on December 29, the winter will remind of itself, according to Petar Yankov of TV-MET.

On December 29 through the country will pass a cold front, which will bring heavy snowfall. The situation will be most serious in northern and north eastern Bulgaria, where the high winds will pile the snow on high drifts.

The average temperatures in December will be around the norm - from around 4 to -5° in the various parts of the country, said Bulgaria's Meteorology Institute in its monthly forecast.

The expected precipitation will be around and above the norm, with snow likely around Christmas and before New Year's Eve.

December will start with rain and snow.

A new blast of lake-effect snow pounded the New York state city of Buffalo on Thursday, piling more misery on a city already buried by an epic, deadly snowfall that could leave some areas with more than 8 feet (2.4 meters) of snow on the ground when it's all done.
     

Over a meter of snow could fall in the area of Buffalo in the north-west of New York, meteorologists say.

A new snowstorm is expected after temperatures have been at a historic low throughout the US, with the weather claiming seven lives across the country.

Sub-zero temperatures have been registered even in Florida and Hawaii, known for their milder climate.

Situation is returning to normal in Bulgaria after heavy rains and snowfall that claimed a woman's life wreaked havoc across the country over the weekend.

Heavy rain caused flooding and traffic congestion in several parts of northern Athens on Monday, while the fire department received dozens of calls to pump water out of basements and move fallen trees.

Heavy rain and storms were expected to hit parts of western Greece on Thursday, according to the Hellenic National Meteorological Service.

The agency noted that rain and storms were initially expected in the northern Ionian Sea and Epirus, before spreading to western parts of Central Greece and northwestern Peloponnese.

Several Balkan countries were bracing for highly unseasonal storms and flooding on Wednesday, which will be bad news for agriculture and local tourist industries already suffering from a drop in numbers.