The unexpected climate phenomenon shocked the Serbs

Before that, there were announcements that "snow showers" were expected in Serbia, and the very term snow shower caused outrage in the public. Many asked what "the snow shower means".

"Snow shower"

Snowfall is a meteorological phenomenon and as a term known for many decades. A similar situation was with supercell storms, and this phenomenon has been adopted since ancient times, but due to its frequency, it caused enormous attention in the media and the public.

In the summer part of the year, rain showers are an almost daily occurrence in Serbia. The difference between rain and downpour is in the different intensity and duration of precipitation, and these two phenomena fall from clouds of special types.

What is a "snow shower"?

Snow showers, although a rare phenomenon, can occur in our area in the colder part of the year. In the territory of Serbia, it most often occurs at the end of winter and during March, but it is also expected today.

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Rain, as well as snow, falls from layered clouds (nimbostratus), which cover a large area and are common when a warm front approaches.

In the summer part of the year, clouds of vertical development (cumulonimbus) appear, and a shower of rain falls from them, often accompanied by thunder. When an unstable atmosphere occurs in the winter part of the year, as is the case today, clouds of vertical development that occur during penetration or near a cold front or in an unstable air mass, are not vertically developed as in summer due to lower temperatures, but they are thick enough to produce showers of rain, in this case a shower of snow, which can be accompanied by thunder.

Snow showers are usually short-lived, but in the case of slower cloud movement, more pronounced cloud development, or bursts of a series of showers, snowfall can last longer and be more pronounced. Snow showers can be accompanied by strong gusts of wind, sometimes even thunder. With this type of showers, in addition to snowflakes, there can sometimes be drops of rain and hail.

When a snow shower is viewed from a distance, a white/grey curtain of snow can be clearly seen below the clouds as it descends towards the ground. When a more pronounced snow shower approaches you, it can feel like a curtain of snow is being drawn towards you. Although snow showers are more frequent during the day, they also occur at night. They mostly occur in winter and early spring.