Visit-Montenegro.com: Crops and grass ‘nipped in the bud’
The North of Montenegro covered in snow yesterday morning: The city at the foot of the mountain Durmitor was snow-covered yesterday morning. Meteorologists registered 3 cm of white snow cover. The new snow carpeted the mountain with some more centimeters over the old, winter seasonal layers. However, the snow didn't prevent a couple dozen Israeli tourists from going for their favorite tour round the mountain, taking up the famous “Durmitor Ring”.
Zabljak/Plav – The city at the foot of the mountain Durmitor was snow-covered yesterday morning. Meteorologists registered 3 cm of white snow cover. The new snow carpeted the mountain with some more centimeters over the old, winter seasonal cover, and it wasn’t only snowing in the heights but also up to the middle of the Tara River Canyon.
The snow prevented farmer Kico Krstajic from taking his cattle up to the mountain pastures at katun “Dobri Do” which is at the same height as Zabljak, 1.450 meters above sea level. However, a couple dozen Israeli tourists, regular guests, were not prevented from going for their favorite tour round the mountain, taking up the famous “Durmitor Ring”. Despite new centimeters of snow, they sat in six jeeps and headed for a circular ring around Durmitor Mountain.
During the day, snow melted gradually. Variable weather conditions caused it to melt. Weather was changing rapidly in Zabljak yesterday with drizzling snow, rain, fog and sunshine so one could say that there were four seasons in one day.
The snow which fell yesterday morning in the municipality of Plav caught everybody by surprise and caused the most damage to farmers and agriculturalists.
More than 4 centimeters of snow fell in the early hours, and it destroyed the crops – mostly corn, potato, beans and other. It caused considerable damage to meadows where grass swaths were buried under snow while the grass which is pressed to the ground by a layer of snow will be difficult to mow down because the moisture easily cause the grass to start rotting.
Many farmers who took their cattle up to summer pastures in the mountains were also taken unawares since there has been an ample snowfall quite unexpectedly.
Older people recall that something similar has happened even before. Back in 1987, the snow fell on 12th of July, and another example is 1953 when the snow fell on 19th of August, the holy Transfiguration day (Preobrazenje) – but what is really hard to believe is that the temperatures reached 30°C only five or six days ago round here.
There was snowfall in Plav too, but around 7-8 a.m. it already began melting.
By O.P. – A.I.