One can expect an icy first half of January with temperatures going down to minus 18 degrees, the second half will be a bit warmer and more dynamic, said meteorologist Krasimir Stoev, National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, in Focus Radio’s morning broadcast.

The average monthly temperatures will be close to and below the norm, and monthly precipitations – around and above the norm. January will be the coldest winter month as usually. Two cold waves are expected, this week and the beginning of the next, as well as precipitations – more considerable in South and East Bulgaria, lighter in the Danube Plain and especially in Northwest Bulgaria.

Already this evening snow will fall in the western and southwestern regions, Stoev added. Maximum temperatures for the month – between 10°C and 15°C. He explained that recent high temperatures during the Christmas holidays were not unusual for that time of the year in Bulgaria.