The Unseasonable Snows of Early November 1995
The Unseasonable Snows of Early November 1995
Snowfall in early November is not uncommon in itself, as there have been cases of minor snows or sleet as early as late September in the Carpathian Basin (for example there were minor snows and sleet on 30 September 1995 near Hűvösvölgy in Budapest, but the snow melted immediately with no snow cover having been formed). It snowed on at least ten to fifteen occasions – primarily in the northern part of the country and in the higher mountains – in early November (prior to the 10th) in the last fifty years, though the fallen snow melted almost immediately in the southern part of the Great Plain. No snow cover of substantial depth or snow-drifts have ever occurred at such an early time of year.
A prerequisite for the formation of snow cover is a temperature around the freezing point, or rather below 0 degrees, Centigrade. In early November, daytime mean temperatures usually range around +6 to +8 degrees then drop rapidly in the course of the month. For example, in mid November, the mean temperature is an average +5 degrees, while it ranges around +1 or +2 degrees late in the month. Therefore, in the first half of November, in no way do temperatures favor the persistence of a snow blanket.
On average, one snow day occurred in November in the southern part of the Great Plain. Large quantities of snow – seeming unusual for mid-November at the time – began to fall on 12 November 1993, covering major parts of the country in 20 to 40 cm of snow in just a few days’ time. The second wave of snows arrived between 20 and 22 November. Severe snows, accompanied by snow-drifts, occurred on 23 and 30 November 1965, 26 and 27 November 1989, and 12 and 13 November 1993 in the southern part of the Great Plain (in the area of Békéscsaba).
