Far-reaching storm to bring flooding and snow to Europe during start of 2021

Much of Europe will ring in the start of 2021 with the same types of weather that 2020 ended on - rainy, cold and snowy.

A storm impacting areas from Italy and Greece to Germany and Poland will provide parts of Europe with potentially flooding rainfall and disruptive snow through early this week.

The storm has already brought heavy rain to portions of the Adriatic Coast from Croatia to Montenegro, with some locations picking up in excess of 50 mm (2 inches) of rain this past weekend.

The threat for heavy rain will shift farther to the south through the beginning of the week and can impact areas from Albania to Greece and parts of southern Serbia and western Bulgaria.

Additional rainfall through Monday is expected to reach 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) in much of the region, with 50-100 mm (2-4 inches) across portions of both western and eastern Greece as well as in Montenegro. Local downpours can also continue to impact western Italy.

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An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ rainfall of 150 mm (6 inches) is expected and is most likely to be seen in along the Adriatic Coast from Montenegro to northern Greece.

Some of the most flood-threatened areas are from southern Croatia to northern Albania, which received in excess of 380 mm (15 inches) of rain during December. Podgorica, Montenegro, was one of the wettest areas and received 486 mm (19.15 inches) of rain during the month, which is nearly seven times their normal December rainfall.

The coming rain can lead to renewed flooding across the region and could threaten mudslides in rugged terrain as soil becomes overly saturated.

Farther to the north, cold air in place across central and northern Europe can lead to accumulating snow across portions of Germany and Poland.

"As the moisture spreads northward into the cold air across central Europe, snow will fall across parts of central and northern Germany into northern Czechia and western Poland," AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys said.

Accumulations through Tuesday can reach 3-8 cm (1-3 inches) across a large area from western Germany to western and northern Poland.

While precipitation is not expected to be as heavy in these areas as farther to the south, colder air will cause whatever snow that does fall to settle on surfaces, including roadways.

Snow accumulations across portions of eastern Germany and western Poland can reach 8-15 cm (3-6 inches) by Monday morning.

Anyone venturing out on Monday morning may want to allow for extra time or perhaps delay driving.

Lighter snow can linger in parts of the region through Tuesday.

Cold and unsettled conditions are expected to remain across a large portion of Europe through the week.

"A potential storm later in the week could bring another round of rain and snow to not only the central Mediterranean, but also portions of Spain and Portugal as it tracks eastward from the Atlantic," Roys said.

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