Can anyone tell me whether it snows much in Ljubljana in January? If I drive
from Trieste to Ljubljana along the main highway in mid January am I likely
to have to drive though snow or ice (no experience with these conditions so
I am a bit cautious).
Thanks to any Slovenian experts.
Ted

It can do. There's very good skiing half an hour from the city but because the city is not in the mountains it usually escapes too much snow.

Many years ago, we (Americans) drove to Venice (we were living in Vienna at
the time) for "Thanksgiving" (late November) and then drove around, stopping
in Ljubljana for lunch on our way back to Vienna. It started to snow and I
kept watching the roads and seeing lots of traffic both ways so wasn't
concerned. After lunch we got in the car and started for the pass. Then I
found out why I saw so much traffic. They were stopping everyone and if you
didn't have chains on, they wouldn't let you through the pass so we, along
with most of the other traffic, turned around. We found a room in Ljubljana
(this was a Sunday) until the stores opened on Monday to buy chains.

This is a long way of saying, yes it does snow there.

"Teddy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:EDhh9.11062$Ee4.30-
[email protected]...
    > Can anyone tell me whether it snows much in Ljubljana in January? If I
drive
    > from Trieste to Ljubljana along the main highway in mid January am I
likely
    > to have to drive though snow or ice (no experience with these conditions
so
    > I am a bit cautious).
    > Thanks to any Slovenian experts.
    > Ted

"Teddy" <[email protected]> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:EDhh9.11062$Ee4.30-
[email protected]...
    > Can anyone tell me whether it snows much in Ljubljana in January? If I
drive
    > from Trieste to Ljubljana along the main highway in mid January am I
likely
    > to have to drive though snow or ice (no experience with these conditions
so
    > I am a bit cautious).
    > Thanks to any Slovenian experts.
    > Ted

There is a 99% chance you won't have any problems with the snow on the
highway. The Slovenian road service is very good to react to snow and ice
conditions on the roads. However, the car must have *snow chains*, otherwise
the Slovenian police can give you a fine (and not a small one, either).

As for snowing in Ljubljana, it is situated in a valley, so yes, there will
probably be snow and often it is very foggy.

Elly

In article <[email protected]>,
Teddy <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Can anyone tell me whether it snows much in Ljubljana in January? If I drive
    > from Trieste to Ljubljana along the main highway in mid January am I likely
    > to have to drive though snow or ice (no experience with these conditions so
    > I am a bit cautious).

There's a good chance that there will be some snow in January. Some
20-30 cm of snow is not unusual, while heavier snow is not common
in Ljubljana (I do remember more than half a meter of snow some
20 years ago). You can expect more snow in the north, while snow
in the southwest is very rare.

All major roads are cleared quickly, so unless there's a heavy
snowfall exactly at the time when you'll be driving to Ljubljana, you
can expect a clear road.

Since chains were mentioned by some: you are required to carry chains
in your vehicle (and use them if neccessary) only if your car is not
equipped with winter tires. You will be therefore fined by police only
if you have summer tires and no chains with you. Chains are available
in all major petrol stations. If you decide to continue north to
Austria via Podkoren or Jezersko pass (or go to Soca valley via Vrsic
pass), you may be required to have chains mounted regardless of the
type of tires. This depends on road conditions on these passes on
a specific day.

However, you don't need to go via a mountain pass to reach Austria;
one option is to take a motorway to northwest and go through a tunnel,
while the other motorway to the northeast (direction of Vienna)
goes eastward of the Alps.

Automotive association (AMZS) gives information on current road conditions
on a phone number +386 1 530 530 0.

Gorazd
--
Gorazd Bozic <[email protected]>