After an unseasonably warm start to the winter, Slovenia finally received noteworthy snowfall on 16 January. While children and winter sport enthusiasts were delighted, motorists were not in the least. Starting in the early morning hours, heavy snowfall wreaked havoc on morning rush-hour traffic and disrupted power supply.

Being heavy and wet, the snow broke tree branches, causing power outages and blocking roads, especially in the mountainous northern regions of Gorenjska and Koroška, but also in Ljubljana, the Celje area and in the northern part of Primorska.

While the south-east and north-east of the country got only little snow, Koroška and Gorenjska received a decent shipment: the lower areas saw between 10 and 25 centimetres, while higher altitudes got around half a metre of fresh snow.

Cross-country skiing destinations Pokljuka and Jezersko both saw some 40 centimetres of fresh snow. The Vogel ski resort above lake Bohinj got about 45 centimetres of new snow for a total of one metre. At Kredarica, the country's highest weather station and mountain lodge, has a snow blanket of nearly two metres.

Several roads were closed in the morning, including sections of motorways, due to car crashes and lorries stuck in snow. Rail traffic has also been experiencing disruption.

Moreover, electric grid workers had their work cut out, mending power lines broken by tree branches and fallen power poles, which left thousands of households and businesses across the country without power.

More snow is expected in the coming days, but it is not unlikely to cause much disruption. On 17 January, rain will fall along snow in the low parts of the country, and on 19 January the forecast is for snow but only a modest amount is expected.