IMAGE: The coldest morning this winter. Temperatures in Prague were also well below zero
The Czech Republic experienced the coldest night and morning this winter. Temperatures in the morning fell well below freezing, in Pohoří na Šumava they measured minus 25.8 degrees. The second level of avalanche danger applies in the Giant Mountains. While traffic on the roads was complicated by heavy snow on Monday, the situation was calmer on Tuesday. It is not snowing, but drivers should be aware of ice, remnants of driven or slush snow. The morning traffic on the railway was without major problems, only the switches froze in a few places. Due to switch malfunctions, trains could not run in the morning, for example, between Poděbrady and Nymburk in Central Bohemia.
In Šumava, the temperature dropped to minus 25 degrees Celsius in the morning, it was very cold even at lower altitudes in the region. The coldest was in Pohoří, where the thermometer showed almost 26 degrees below zero. Perla station near Kvilda measured minus 25.1 degrees Celsius. It was minus 24.8 degrees in Horská Kvilda and minus 25 degrees Celsius in Březník near Modrava.
It was cold even in the lowlands. At six o’clock in the morning, the station in Prague-Kbely measured -11.5 °C, in Karlovy Vary it was -14.2 °C (at seven o’clock -14.5 °C), in Pilsen – Mikulka -10.6 °C, -10.2 °C in České Budějovice. It was slightly warmer in the east of the territory – the “warmest” was -3.4 °C in Prostějov.
Today, the avalanche danger in the Czech part of the Krkonoše Mountains rose from the first to the second level of the five-point scale. The second level means a moderate risk of avalanches, conditions for hikes are mostly safe. The first mildest level of avalanche danger in the current winter season was first announced on Monday. There is 30 to 50 centimeters of snow on the Krkonoše ridges. In the Polish part of the Krkonoše Mountains, the local mountain service did not declare an avalanche danger.
At Jizerka in the Jizerské hory, which is one of the coldest places in the country, they measured minus nine. At such low losses, it loses the efficiency used by road workers. Traffic can freeze, so road workers recommend extra caution. However, all roads in the Liberec Region were passable with caution. Road III/2904 through Oldřichovské sedlo to Raspenava remains closed for trucks over six tons, the road runs through a protected area, so salt is not used there. A bus also got stuck there on Monday. Drivers have to go towards Hejnice and Raspenava on the main road I/13 through Frýdlant, which is treated chemically.
Road I/56 in the section Ostravice – Bílá in the Moravian-Silesian region, which is one of the main routes in Slovakia, is also closed for trucks and trucks with trailers or semi-trailers. Road workers and police closed this section for precautionary reasons. The road must not be salted because it runs near a dam with drinking water. However, snow often causes complications in the hills. Restrictions in this section should end tonight.
Road officials warned of ice on the road I/35 in Valašské Meziříčí in the Vsetín region, on the road I/50 near Zástřizel in the Kroměříž region or on the road II/493 near Petrůvka in the Zlín region. In Vysočina, low grade roads are covered with crushed snow. The main strokes are bare and frozen, in places they may be wet after salting. There were no traffic problems, but drivers should drive with extra caution. From the evening until this morning, over 90 spreaders went out in the region. It snowed on Monday, trucks couldn’t go out in some hills. There was no snow or wind during the night.
The roads in Central Bohemia were passable with caution this morning, in some places there was slush after chemical treatment. At night, the regional road workers again sent all their equipment into the terrain, but it was no longer snowing in the region. The police have already recorded several traffic accidents, for example in Nová Ves in Mělnick or in Kladno. There were no injuries in the collisions.
There is also a risk of icing on the roads in the Ore Mountains. In the vicinity of Boží Dar, the roads are modified, but with rutted lanes. In the morning, regional road crews mainly drove to the Mariánské Lázně area, where ice often forms in places where fog appears.