The storm began in the last days of December 2025, but peaked on December 31 and continued strongly on January 1 and 2, 2026, with some areas recording snow accumulations exceeding 40 cm in cities, reaching nearly two meters in the southern Tatra Mountains. This led to a near-complete paralysis of daily life, with widespread power outages, disruptions to rail traffic, and thousands of cars stranded on highways for long hours. The snowstorm hitting the country caused temporary closures of several major and regional airports, including disruptions at Warsaw, Gdańsk, and Kraków airports, with warnings to travelers to postpone flights or check flight statuses before heading to the airports. At Chopin Airport in Warsaw and John Paul II International Airport in Kraków-Balice, hundreds of flights were canceled. The most immediate impact was seen on the A1 and A2 highways, the main arteries for traffic in the country, which experienced traffic jams stretching for several kilometers due to truck slides and jackknife situations that blocked lanes. Authorities issued strict warnings to citizens through official media and emergency messages: "Stay home as much as possible," and "Avoid going out unless absolutely necessary," with advice to equip emergency vehicles with blankets, shovels, and extra fuel. Poland has witnessed increasingly severe weather fluctuations in recent years due to climate change, with harsher snowstorms and unusual accumulations even in low-lying areas. The current storm, described by some reports as the "Great Storm of 2026," followed a strong low-pressure system that settled over Central Europe, and is considered one of the most severe snowstorms at the beginning of the year in years.
