Baltic Sea freezes due to extreme cold, with Estonia opening a road across the ice and Polish coast experiencing rare coastal freezing.
Extreme Winter Conditions
This winter has been characterized by significant snowfall. Temperatures have occasionally dropped below -20°C. In northern Poland, subzero temperatures have persisted for many days. Interestingly, a temperature anomaly of nearly -10/-15°C compared to the 1991-2020 norm was observed in early February. This is a direct result of multi-day frosts in northern parts of the country.
Estonia Opens Road Across Frozen Sea
The Baltic Sea has not gone unnoticed, becoming the center of attacks from Arctic air masses in northern Europe. In Estonia, the sea froze so much that authorities decided to open a road directly across the Baltic Sea!
Polish Coast Experiences Rare Freezing
Freezing was also observed along Poland’s coast, albeit on a smaller scale. This phenomenon is known as coastal ice, with the coastal zone and the Gulf of Puck mainly frozen. Due to the thaw, the ice is slowly beginning to melt, but there is still quite a lot of it, and in the Gulf of Puck, there are places where the ice stretches to the horizon. It is worth noting that such an event happens once every few to several years. The last occurrences were in 2021 and 2018.
