If you’re staying in Split and you decide to visit Plitvice National Park, you will pass through St. Rocco tunnel, 5.7 km (3.5 miles) long, the second longest tunnel in Croatia. It was an expensive shortcut through Velebit, a long mountain chain, which runs parallel to the Croatian coast and separates Dalmatia from continental Croatia. These two have very different climates. There can be a significant difference in temperature and the visual contrast once you’re out of the tunnel is stunning – it feels like changing planets! If you’re traveling to Split, suddenly you’ll be surrounded by stone and you’ll get the first glimpse of the Adriatic.
Thanks to this amazing body of water and thanks to Velebit mountain (it protects Dalmatia from harsh winter conditions), our climate is Mediterranean – which means dry, warm summers and moderate, wet winters. The temperatures range from 5 -10 °C (40 – 50 °F) in winter and it rarely snows. But when it does, it’s really something special. Snow hugging water is an amazing sight! I remember only one snowy winter in Split in my childhood. Back then, if you’d happened to be staying in a hotel on the island of Hvar, and if it had snowed – you would have gotten your stay for free, no matter how long the stay! THAT’S how often it snowed in Dalmatia! But things have changed…
In winter of 2012. all of Dalmatia got covered in snow, a foot in Split, but towns close by got up to four feet of snow! It was snowing even on the islands…And we were totally unprepared! At first, everybody was excited, especially children. All the traffic was blocked so kids used roads as ski slopes. It was a feast for our eyes – thick white blanket on the ground, fat snowflakes all around, children (and grownups!) having so much fun…Our joy didn’t last for too long – the next day the temperature significantly dropped and everything turned into ice, way before anyone thought of cleaning it…Bura, our cold winter wind was blowing 200 km per hour! Few people were able to get to work, there was no school, and it was a difficult task to get any goods or services. Hospitals were full of people with broken arms and legs and ambulances had a hard time reaching those who needed their help…
Ever since stores always stock up on shovels, salt and other winter necessities, but we still haven’t had a chance to use them!
As the saying goes – Better safe than sorry.