Snow like in the middle of winter above 1400 meters above sea level and rainy and cool weather even in the south marked this year's April, in contrast to 2018 when there was a lot of swimming on the coast and the temperature exceeded thirty degrees.
Official data also confirm that spring is quite late - this year's April 16 is the coldest since 1949.
"This April, the mean maximum daily temperature was around 18,4 Celsius, and this April is the 16th coldest since 1949, since the Institute for Hydrometrology and Seismology has been conducting continuous measurements. It is interesting to mention that for the first time in this century, Žabljak had a daily snow cover from January 1 to May 1 (it will last for a few more days)," meteorologist Dušan Pavićević told "Vijesta".
In Žabljak yesterday, the height of the snow cover was measured to be about thirty centimeters, and the snow is many times more with the increase in altitude. "Vijesti" announced last weekend that the levees over the Štuoc pass, at about 1900 meters above sea level, are thick and more than seven meters...
Pavićević says that the seasonal prognostic material announced April with precipitation within the normal range and temperatures significantly above normal for this time of year.
"While the seasonal forecast for the winter months and March was very good, the same could not be said for April. April brought precipitation within the normal range (in Podgorica about 130 liters per square meter (l/m2), in Cetinje about 270 l/m2), the temperature was noticeably lower than average. The mean April Tmax is around 19,7 Celsius. The warmest was April 2018, with an average Tmax of as much as 25,7 C. This April, the mean maximum daily temperature was around 18,4 degrees Celsius," Pavićević explained.
He pointed out that, if the new seasonal forecast is to be believed, the May-June-July quarter will be among the 10 warmest in the last 30 years and that we are in for a warm and mostly dry summer.
"And precipitation is expected to be close to average amounts, or with a slight deficit. In all probability, a very warm and mostly dry summer awaits us".
"Vijesti" wrote in April 2018 that the beaches were full of bathers, which was contributed to by high air temperatures and significantly warmer seas than this year. The sea temperature then reached 22 Celsius, and only in the last days of April this year it reached 17 degrees Celsius and there were almost no swimmers.
April 2018 was the warmest since the Institute for Hydrometeorology and Seismology has been taking measurements.
"Numerous temperature records were broken, but April 2018 was not the driest," Pavićević told "Vijesta".
He clarified that in Podgorica from 1949 to 2018, seven days were recorded in April during which the mercury in the thermometer exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, and in record 2018 this happened as many as five times.
"Days in which the temperature reaches or exceeds 30 degrees are counted as tropical. We had 18 days during which the temperature was over 25 degrees Celsius, which are summer days. The previous record, when it comes to summer days, was in 2007, and then there were 16 days with a temperature of over 25 degrees," specified Pavićević.
He pointed out that in Podgorica in 2018, the absolute maximum temperature in April was also broken.
"The previous record of 32,4 degrees Celsius from 2013 has been exceeded and now stands at 33,2 degrees".
In addition, Pavićević pointed out, April 2018 also had the highest average minimum temperature.
18,4 degrees Celsius was the mean maximum daily temperature of the past month
Looking at the deviation of the temperature from the average monthly value this month, he explained, it had the largest deviation in the history of meteorological measurements in Montenegro.
Pavićević noted that April 2018 in Podgorica was warmer than May.
Temperature records for April 2018 were also broken in other cities in the south of Montenegro.
"In Ulcinj, an absolute record was recorded for April, that is, the mercury in the thermometer stopped at 32,4 degrees Celsius," said Pavićević.
In Herceg Novi, as he explained, since the time of measurement, the temperature in April has never exceeded 30 degrees Celsius, and in 2018 it happened three times, and three days in a row.
In the north, 2018 was also the warmest April, but the absolute maximum temperatures were not exceeded.
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