Heavy snowfall on Monday and Tuesday, in combination with strong wind and snow drifts at places have caused serious troubles to transport and power supply in many parts of the country.

The snow cover was thickest in Smolyan in the south (70-80 cm). It is 37 cm in Haskovo in the Southeast, and some 32 cm in Vratsa and Montana in the Northwest and Kyustendil in the Southwest, reported the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology. Sofia had 21 cm and Plovdiv 28 cm.

The snowfall has already stopped in some parts, first in the West but fresh snow is expected on Wednesday.

The roads across the country are wet and some have snow, said the Road Infrastricture Agency. The Bourgas-Karnobat section of Trakia Motorway is closed to traffic in both directions, as is Hemus Motorway. Most mountain passes are closed for trucks with attachments and all vehicles are required to use anti-skid chains. The roads to four villages in the Northeastern Shoumen region are under snow and unusuable.

Varna Airport said it had had to cancel its flight to Sofia because of the snow and wind. Varna Port is closed for all vessels. Three municipalities in Varna Region declared a state of emergency. Schools in Varna will remain closed Tuesday afternoon, City Hall said.

The border crossing at Zlatograd, on the border with Greece, was closed on Tuesday morning because snow was not ploughed on the Greek side, said the Interior Ministry.

A gale-force wind of 16/mps built deep snow drifts in the Northeastern Dobrich region. 48 villages in this part of the country are without electricity. Power supply has also been disturbed in eight villages near Ivaylovgrad in the Southeast since Monday evening. 30 villages in the Southern region of Yambol have had their water supply cut off by the adverse weather. A state of emergency on the territory of the municipality has been decaled by an order of Haskovo Mayor Georgi Ivanov, the local administration said.

In the Southern region of Kurdjali the snow is up to 50 cm deep at places. A total of 30 settlements in Kroumovgrad municipality and four in Kurdjali municipality are without electricity supply.

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