Rain Today in Serbia, Kopaonik Drops to 3 Degrees

Why does this morning feel colder than we remember for late September? A cold front has swept across Serbia, and the Republic Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia (RHMZ) has forecast rain, showers and snow on the highest peaks for Friday, September 25. The cooldown, according to the official forecast, will last only until the weekend.

Most of the country woke up cloudy and rainy this morning, with temperatures well below the seasonal average. Belgrade is at around 13 degrees, Vojvodina around 10, and southern Serbia around 8. Sjenica is measuring 8 degrees, Zlatibor 7, and Kopaonik just 3. The south, southeast and east are still dry for now, but RHMZ expects the weather to turn there too during the day. In the north of Vojvodina the rain has already stopped and skies are clearing town by town.

How cold it will get during the day

RHMZ updated its city by city forecast this morning at 8:50. The day’s high ranges from 5 degrees on Kopaonik to 18 in Palic and Novi Sad, and the low from 2 on Kopaonik to 12 in Negotin. The official Friday forecast, carried by RTS (Radio Television of Serbia), calls for a low of 7 to 12 and a high of 13 to 18 degrees, with a weak to moderate northwest wind. K1 Info’s own Friday forecast gives a wider range, 11 to 19 degrees, so the two sources do not fully agree on the day’s maximum.

The forecast carried by RTS also comes with a warning: more than 20 liters of rain per square meter in 12 hours, with an 80 percent probability. On RHMZ’s own warnings page, however, it stated this morning that there is currently no active meteorological warning.

Where the rain is heaviest and where it snows

The most rain today is falling in the southwest, central Serbia and Metohija, locally up to 25 liters per square meter. Above 1,700 meters of altitude the temperature is dropping close to zero, so snow is possible on Kopaonik, Golija, Zeljin, Stara planina, Suva planina, Besna Kobila and the mountains of Kosovo and Metohija. We already reported that Golija had turned white under snow and that Kopaonik was waiting for its first flakes by evening, and this morning’s readings on the ground confirm it.

When real warming arrives

Mild warming begins on Saturday: a low of 6 to 11, a high of 18 to 22 degrees, and just 7 on Kopaonik. On Sunday, September 27, the low runs from 7 to 12 and the high from 21 to 25 degrees. On Monday, September 28, the high climbs to 22, even 26 degrees.

Telegraf meteorologist Djordje Djuric says that after the weekend the weather will settle into a genuine Indian summer, with highs of 23 to 29, locally up to 30 degrees. Mornings, though, will stay cool and foggy in valleys and basins. Geography Faculty in Belgrade climatologist Aleksandar Valjarevic also says the weather has been swinging fast these days.

“Temperatures will go even above the 25 degree mark, so the situation is alarming again,” Valjarevic told Euronews Serbia.

He adds that we need to watch these changes more closely, adapt, and build a strategy, because the climate, as he puts it, is changing very fast.

What to wear today

Bring an umbrella this morning and dress in layers, a jacket over a thin sweater is the best combination for the swing between morning and afternoon. If you are heading to the mountains, Kopaonik and Golija are realistically about ten degrees colder than Belgrade today, so pack a winter jacket, not a spring one.

The rain also brings some relief for gardens and fields. RHMZ is still keeping its agricultural drought warning in place, valid through September 29, after weeks of low rainfall left a clear moisture deficit in the soil. Today’s rain helps, but a single day rarely makes up for several dry weeks.