February 13, 2021 – Have you ever imagined the Croatian island of Hvar covered in snow? It sounds unbelievable for one of the sunniest islands in the Mediterranean, but today it snowed again in Hvar, just like three years ago.

The announced cold front arrived in Croatia, and even in its warmest parts. Even the Croatian island of Hvar was covered in snow this morning.

Three years ago, one of the sunniest islands in the Mediterranean was covered by snow for the first time in 25 years. This morning, the Hvar town people woke up just like in 2018 – seeing their city covered with a thin white blanket.

"It's always nice to see a little bit of winter joy because we don't see it often. We are not used to this, but let it last for a few days. We will endure the cold," said Vedran Dulčić, Hvar native, who sent us a photo from the town of Hvar.

A view from Hvar Fortress (Fortica), an unavoidable place in Hvar, looks like this today. The Hvar port, perfect blue sea, and Pakleni islands in the background, which a beautiful view overlooks during the summer, are now barely even seen.

Facebook Hvar Town

It's also very cold. Hvar residents say that the stormy wind bura started to blow, and they predict (or at least hope) that the snow will not last long. By midday, it already almost melted. However, in 2018, the snow on Hvar stayed for more than a week.

For people who are used to temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius on Hvar, today's only one degree is not pleasant at all, but they try to endure it. Just a few more months and there will be summer, right? Although it is beautiful even in winter conditions, nothing can compare to the beauty that Hvar exudes in summer.

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January 25, 2021 – Released images show falling snow is causing extremely difficult conditions on some Croatian roads, both motorways and state roads, with the mountainous regions of Lika and Gorski Kotar most affected

Any optimists living in Zagreb could be forgiven for thinking winter was over. Over a succession of two days last week they were basking in the relatively balmy daytime temperatures of 16 degrees. The sun shone brightly, the boots stayed indoors and lighter jackets were thrown on to visit the shops. Not everyone in Zagreb is an optimist, though. And those with an experience that is greater than their hope knew the reality of the situation; Croatia's winter can turn round at any moment to bite you in the ass.

Snow covering the Lika region

And that's exactly what happened this weekend, when falling snow produced treacherous driving conditions across a wide area of Croatia. On some motorways, a ban on trucks with trailers and tractors with semi-trailers is in place because of the continually falling snow. Another response to the falling snow has been to make winter vehicle equipment mandatory.

A thick layer of snow covers the road near Delnice at 19.14 on Sunday 24 January 2021 © HAK

While the Croatian capital was experiencing its warm spell, falling snow continued to descend on more mountainous regions of the country, Lika and Gorski Kotar in particular. And it is those that remain most affected by the treacherous driving conditions. Hrvatske Autoceste (Croatian Motorways) are responding to the continuing weather conditions. But, they released pictures of one motorway section near Delnice which, even after plowing, was 30 minutes later again covered by the falling snow.

A snowplow arrives at 19.15 to clear the snow © HAK

Thick falling snow and ice made it difficult to drive on the A6 Zagreb - Rijeka highway. The National Association of Drivers and Vehicle Owners (HAK) issued a series of warnings for the following routes: A1 Zagreb-Split-Ploče between the junctions of Bosiljevo II and Maslenica, A6 Rijeka-Zagreb between the junctions of Bosiljevo II and Kikovica, state road DC1 between Zagorje and Gračac and state road DC3 through Gorski Kotar between Zdihovo and Kikovica.

By 19.45 the road is in the same state as before the snowplow arrived, because of continually falling snow © HAK

HAK also reported that there is currently no passable road for trucks with trailers and tractors with semi-trailers from the direction of the continental interior towards Rijeka and Istria and Dalmatia and vice versa. The colder temperatures are expected to stick around for most of the early part of the week, although the skies may be clearer in some regions. Temperatures will rise again heading towards next weekend under an increasing cloud cover, but the chilly conditions might well bounce back towards the end of next weekend. Zagreb itself could even experience more snowfall at that time.

January 20, 2021 – A white blanket of snow covered many Croatian destinations, including one of the most popular excursion sites – Japetic, the highest peak of Samobor Hills. At this time of year, Japetic offers a beautiful view of the Alps, and photographer Josip Škof captured these unforgettable snow scenes last weekend.

At 879 meters above sea level, Japetić, the highest peak of Samobor Hills, is a favorite Croatian destination for picnickers and hikers. Due to its preserved natural beauties, Japetić has been declared a reserve of forest vegetation.

On one of the trails, not far from the top, a lookout tower was built in 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was also built. The iron pyramid-lookout is 12 meters high and is under the protection of the Ministry of Culture. Until 1960, it was at the top of Medvednica mountain, but it was moved after the construction of the television tower on Sljeme.

A little above the lookout at the top of a steep meadow is the famous mountain lodge Žitnica, from whose terrace you will also find a beautiful open view of the surrounding Pokuplje hills area in the distance.

Popular Japetić lookout offers a view of the nearby peaks of Sljeme, Oštrc, Okić, Klek, Plešivica, Sv Gera, and even Bjelolasica, Risnjak. In clear weather like these days, especially in winter, even the Alps can be seen.

Last snowy weekend, while some people visited destinations such as Plitvice Lakes and ski resorts in Gorski Kotar and Lika, photographer Josip Škof stayed in Zagreb County, capturing the snow-capped Alps from the winter-bound Japetić.

And he was not the only one because Japetić is one of the most exciting lookouts in Zagreb's vicinity, only half an hour drive away. It is an unavoidable destination for visitors during the winter because of the snow that covers the old beech forest, creating a winter idyll, but also because of the unforgettable view of nearby peaks.

"I can't find the words to describe the scenes that were created in front of me. Luckily, I brought my camera, so I can most faithfully show you what views I enjoyed this weekend. I also chose the right day, and my view reached as far as Triglav peak, about 150 kilometers away. A little closer, approximately 120 kilometers, the Kamnik Alps were in the palm of my hand," said Škof in his Facebook post, telling us to enjoy the beautiful photos of his beloved native Zagreb County.

Although Alpine ski resorts are inaccessible to us this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is almost unbelievable that we still have the opportunity to see Alpine peaks from the Zagreb neighborhood. Marked hiking trails from Ivančići and a good road over Draga Svetojanska lead to Japetić.

The ascent to Japetić is not overly demanding, and the scenes of winter idyll are worth experiencing. Josip Škof's photo gallery is calling us to take the opportunity and go to one of Croatia's most interesting lookouts, only thirty minutes away from the Croatian capital of Zagreb.

All photos: Zagreb County Tourist Board / Josip Škof

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The Croatian police have been upping their game recently when it comes to fining drivers, from offenses like using your phone while driving to not having your seatbelt buckled, we've now entered the colder months and drivers having left snow on their car roofs and car bonnets (hoods), are next in line for a hefty fine.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 28th of November, 2018, drivers who haven't cleaned bothered to clean the snow from their vehicle's roof or engine cover pose not only a major danger to themselves on the roads, as well as to others.

Avoiding the unwanted task of having to clean snow off your car in the morning can however be avoided entirely with the use of a simple piece of cardboard and two socks, according to 24sata.

If you put the piece of cardboard on the windshield in the morning, it won't freeze over, and a sock on each windscreen wiper blade will prevent them from freezing and sticking themselves to the glass. If you haven't or don't intend to do this, make sure to take other proper measures or be prepared to wake up that bit earlier as properly removing snow and ice is, as you'll likely be aware of, quite time consuming.

The Croatian police have warned that hefty fines will be given to those who drive their cars without having removed the snow and ice from the vehicle beforehand. Snow that flies off your car when in motion can cause a danger to other drivers, and you may be completely blinded when braking, which is one of many reasons why uncleaned snow and ice can easily cause an otherwise completely avoidable traffic accident.

If the Croatian police stop you on the road with snow and ice left on your car, you will receive a 1,000 kuna penalty.

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