Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has brandished plans to make sure everyone does his job properly so that the authorities are not "surprised" by the first heavy snow this year.

"We are expecting snow on Friday. Make sure that this year it does not come as a surprise to you. I want you to be prepared when it comes to having the brooms and snow removal machinery ready. If I read in the newspapers [headlines] such as "Snow Caught Us with Pants Down Again", I will get really mad. This is why I am warning you now that it will be snowing on Friday," Borisov told his ministers on Thursday, according to the shorthand report.

Regional Development Minister Rossen Plevneliev assured the prime minister that authorities will not be "surprised" by the first snow this year, the shorthand report shows.

"We will manage this. Germany and England were really surprised by the first snow. But we will be more perfect than the Germans, I hope," he said.

The weather forecasters have warned that Bulgarians should brace themselves for a colder-than-usual winter, with temperatures rarely above the freezing point between December and February.

It remains to be seen whether this year, just like any other, authorities in Bulgaria will be "surprised" by the weather and be unprepared when it comes to having the snow removal machinery ready.

Every year the first heavy snowfall impedes the traffic in the Bulgarian capital Sofia is impeded, even though the major arteries are cleaned up, while drivers are advised to be extra careful because they remain slippery.

Pedestrians are not so lucky - walking through the capital early morning is quite like traversing an untrodden mountain path, for sidewalks usually are not cleaned.

Enormous traffic jams form in the capital Sofia as well at a number of key roads around the country due to the snowfall.

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