Winter in mid-July on Transalpina. Heat to come back this week

Tourists spending the weekend on Transalpina, the highest road in Romania, were surprised on Sunday when they discovered it was snowing in the middle of summer.

The snow pack reached 2 centimeters at over 2,000m altitude and temperature got below 4-Celsius degrees.

The national road company spread calcium chloride solution to avoid ice on the road.

Transalpina is the highest road in the country and is considered a dangerous road. Transalpina or DN67C located in the Parang Mountains is linking Novaci, south of Parang, to Sebes in the north.

The road was reportedly built under King Carol II during the WWII by German troops and that’s why locals used to call it The King’s Road. A legend says that communist dictator Ceausescu had Transfagarasan Road built just to outrank Transalpina.

In 2009 the alpine road was completely paved and fully opened to traffic in 2012.

Also known as the “King’s Road” or the “Devil’s Path” it is a real trademark, being the main attraction in Ranca mountain resort.

Sunday was pretty chilly on the seaside, too, with only 18 Celsus degrees being registered in Mangalia, on the southern Black Sea shore.

The sea water was also extremely cold, ranging from 16 to 20 Celsius degrees, preventing tourists even to go for a dip.

Experts said that generally the temperature at the water surface is related to the air temperature, but this year the chilly water was also generated by an unusual phenomenon. The wind has blown from southwest a long while, from the shore to the sea, the superficial layer was pushed offward and deep colder waters climbed to the surface.

However, the weather is getting warmer and warmer, rains will be scarce, the sky will be clear and the heat will seize the country in the middle of the week, when temperatures will mount to 36 Celsius degrees. There will be scorching heat in the western and southwestern regions and nights will get tropical especially through the Western Hills and on the seaside.