Czech Republic's Jeseníky mountains report heavy first snowfall for 2020-21 season

The Jeseníky mountains in the Olomouc region of the Czech Republic recorded the first snowfall of the 2020-21 season on Sunday night and into Monday morning. Snowfall was so heavy in the area that roads in the area had to be closed this morning.

Due to poor conditions, the I/44 road by the Červenohorské sedlo mountains, the primary road between the towns of Jeseník and Šumperk, was temporarily closed this morning. It had re-opened by noon.

"There are three centimeters [of snow] on the Červenohorské sedlo mountains in the highest places, this is the first snowfall of the year there," a dispatcher from the Šumperk road administration told iDnes.cz this morning.

"It's raining [at the base of the mountains], it's about six degrees in our area."

According to those in the area, it's a relatively early snowfall for this year.

"Four years ago, I remember that the snow fell on October 5, but it was not so much," Ondřej Škovránek from the Jeseník Mountain Rescue Service told iDnes.cz.

"According to the experience of colleagues, a lot of snow fell on October 18, 2003, at that time it was not possible to drive without clearing the roads."

Škovránek estimates that more than ten centimeters of snow fell in the area overnight.

Despite the early snow in the area, the Jeseníky mountains aren't the site of the first snowfall in the Czech Republic this year.

The Šumava mountains, in western Bohemia, reported some heavy snowfall two weeks prior.

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute has forecast snow for mountain ranges across the Czech Republic this week, especially in Jeseníky and Krkonoše.

In Prague, temperatures are forecast to dip throughout the week. Daytime highs are predicted to be in the range of 8-12 °C, with nighttime lows approaching zero.