Strong winds and black ice warnings across Slovakia

Drivers should be careful on Friday and the weekend, as black ice is likely to form on roads mainly in central Slovakia. The Slovak Hydrometeorological Institute (SHMU) has therefore issued a first-level warning for Žilina and Banská Bystrica regions, as well as for some parts of Trenčín, Nitra, and Košice and Prešov regions. The alert will apply between 2-10 pm in most parts of the listed areas. In addition to icy surfaces on the roads, most areas except for parts of western and eastern Slovakia are expected to be hit by strong winds in the mountains on Friday and Saturday. SHMU warns that gusts of wind in hilly and mountainous areas in all regions except for Bratislava region should reach between 20-26 m/s between 10 am on Friday and 2 pm on Saturday. These localities will be subject to a first-level weather alert covering these two days. The Institute added that although such strong winds are not irregular for these places at this time of the year, but they could cause damage. SHMU has also issued a more serious second-level warning for the mountain ridges of the High and Low Tatra mountains (Banská Bystrica, Žilina and Prešov regions), as well as for several other areas in the Žilina region. Gusts of wind in these localities are predicted to reach speeds of between 26-32 m/s between 10 am on Friday and 12 pm on Saturday.