Six Bulgarian regions are under code orange Saturday, the National Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) announced.

Code orange means intense weather situations with potential damage, injuries and casualties and is declared over heavy snow and ice. The warning includes the regions of Vratsa, Lovech, Gabrovo, Veliko Tarnovo, city of Sofia, and Sofia region.

Drifts on "Hemus" highway, connecting Sofia and the Black Sea city of Varna, have caused traffic jams near the Vitinya mountain pass, where vehicles are reported blocked in the snow.

In the capital Sofia, the City Hall's services have cleaned the main roads and those used by public transportation.

There will be a significant snow cover in western and central Bulgaria and in the mountains. In eastern Bulgaria the precipitations will gradually turn from rain to snow. Gusty winds are also expected for the Bulgarian east end, along the Black Sea coast.

The minimum temperatures will be between minus 3 and plus 2 degrees Celsius, while the maximum – from 0 to plus 5.

A more moderate code yellow has been declared for another 16 regions. Code yellow means potentially dangerous weather, where the forecast is not for unusual meteorological events, but requires people to exercise caution.

The Road Infrastructure Agency reports that roads are passable under winter weather conditions. Traffic police are advising drivers to use caution and to avoid travels unless absolutely necessary.