Snow returns, but the ski season is late: what will the weather be like in the Carpathians for the holidays and will housing prices change?

Due to the lack of snow, the ski season in Ukraine has not yet started at any of the resorts, although, usually, skiing begins in late November or early December. At the same time, today snowfalls began in the Carpathians. Natalia Holenia, head of the meteorological forecast department of the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center, and tourist expert Yulia Veselovska told UNN journalist whether the weather will be favorable for skiing during the winter holidays and whether accommodation prices will change due to the late start of the winter season.

DetailsAccording to Natalia Holenia, as of now, snow has already fallen in Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Zakarpattia regions, including the high-altitude areas of the Carpathians. Its height varies from a few centimeters to more than ten in some settlements. Snowfall will continue in the coming days, after which a short pause is expected.

Snow cover has already formed in the Carpathians. Maybe not everywhere, but especially in Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk regions, and even Zakarpattia region, particularly in the highlands. The snow cover is from one to six centimeters, and in Prykarpattia, particularly in Kolomyia, up to 12 centimeters. Snow will continue today until the evening, then there will be a short break for Christmas.

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And after the Christmas lull, the weather will again become more active. In late December, new snowfalls will cover the Carpathians, accompanied by strong winds. This weather pattern, says Natalia Holenia, will persist on New Year’s Eve.

From December 28-29, on Sunday and Monday, it will snow again. Wind gusts of 15-20 meters per second, blizzards are possible. Practically the same weather will be on New Year’s Eve – with snow, with a snow cover of up to 10-20 centimeters and with frost.

In addition, the temperature regime in the mountains will remain stably wintery. Minus temperatures will prevail on the thermometer day and night, which will contribute to the preservation of snow. Short-term thaws are possible, but they will not have a significant impact on the overall situation.

The temperature is expected to be from 3 to 8 degrees below zero, and with clearings at night – up to 10-12 below zero. No sharp changes or thaws are predicted before the New Year. The weather will be stably wintery, starting from the coming days.

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However, despite the return of snow and winter conditions, the Carpathian tourism market this season is unusual. Tourist expert Yulia Veselovska says that the supply of accommodation in the Carpathians currently exceeds demand, which is atypical for the New Year holidays. Also, many tourists who booked trips in advance massively canceled their accommodation due to the lack of snow.

I was monitoring the situation and saw that a lot of people canceled their bookings because there was no snow, and they didn’t believe that the season would happen at all. Even now, despite the snow, the supply of accommodation, according to my personal observations, exceeds demand. Last year, groups closed much faster, but this year, accommodation can be found even a few days before arrival.

At the same time, there was no sharp decrease in accommodation prices due to the late start of the winter season. Accommodation owners are not in a hurry to adjust the cost, and the greatest demand traditionally remains for New Year’s dates.

I wouldn’t say that prices have gone down much. They practically haven’t changed. At most, for New Year’s dates, owners who don’t have full occupancy can raise the price not twofold, but, for example, one and a half times. But good, quality accommodation with good conditions was booked back in October-November.

In addition, the tourism expert notes that tourists who want to save money should monitor profitable offers more carefully.

Those who understand economics are willing to be more flexible and lower prices to attract customers. There are also discount aggregators where you can find profitable packages for several days with meals. But Instagram houses with panoramas and expensive renovations do not lower their prices.

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