I've just returned from my usual few weeks in Hungary over Xmas and what very bizarre weather, to say the least.

The weather was mainly between 0 and -10, which is a bit cold but still normalish for the time of year.

The strange bit started the weekend before xmas when we had temperatures around -15 and -20 with big snowfalls. Had a great time walking in the hills oustide Budapest with thermal undies and loads of layers...brrr!

however

quite incredibly the weather changed so dramatically so that within days we had early summer weather- the snow was gone replaced by blue skies, warm sun and floods of water everywhere 30cm of snow melted in 2 days.

The most dramatic change was in the city of Pécs, where the temperature went from -20c to +21.5c - that's an increase of over 40c in just 3 days! They showed before and after pictures on tv of people in skiing clothes, faces covered against the freezing wind one day, and a couple of days later people sunbathing topless in the same place....

The hospitals reported a doubling of the number of admissions due to heart problems.

It was most queer indeed....

I like the term used by one Arkansas weatherman, when he talked about America having "Crazy Snow".

david wrote:
I've just returned from my usual few weeks in Hungary over Xmas and what very bizarre weather, to say the least.

The weather was mainly between 0 and -10, which is a bit cold but still normalish for the time of year.

The strange bit started the weekend before xmas when we had temperatures around -15 and -20 with big snowfalls. Had a great time walking in the hills oustide Budapest with thermal undies and loads of layers...brrr!

however

quite incredibly the weather changed so dramatically so that within days we had early summer weather- the snow was gone replaced by blue skies, warm sun and floods of water everywhere 30cm of snow melted in 2 days.

The most dramatic change was in the city of Pécs, where the temperature went from -20c to +21.5c - that's an increase of over 40c in just 3 days! They showed before and after pictures on tv of people in skiing clothes, faces covered against the freezing wind one day, and a couple of days later people sunbathing topless in the same place....

The hospitals reported a doubling of the number of admissions due to heart problems.

It was most queer indeed....

I took an interest in your post David as my father in law lives in Budapest. He disagrees that it was 70f. In fact it was quite the opposite, with nothing out of the ordinary to report. Very strange.

www.timeanddate.com/weather/hungary/budapest/historic

I was curious so did a google search. This report seems to confirm the increase in temperature.

www.caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/sin...icle/11/record_high/

and this one is about the flooding from melting snow.

www.caboodle.hu/nc/news/news_archive/sin...ut/?cHash=f4587e9360

it didn't quite make 21c in Budapest, but I did see temperatures of around +15c on the tops of buildings where I had seen -15c or so a few days previously.

The biggest temperature difference was in the south where my ex's mum lives (we usually spend xmas with her)- that's where it got to +21.5 as it says in the article you linked to.

global warming !! but don't tell BR