While the Austrian capital Vienna was preparing for spring, temperatures dropped below zero after March 21 in a rare occurrence that has only happened twice before, in 1883 and 1958. Winter returned unexpectedly, as snow covered large parts of the country, and temperatures fell sharply during strong storms. Wind speeds reached 133.6 km/h, setting new records for March, with temperatures dropping to -3°C. The return of winter led to numerous car accidents, and authorities had to repeatedly close highways to carry out rescue operations. The meteorological service reported that Austria is experiencing late winter storms due to a widespread atmospheric disturbance that brought northern polar air currents, causing heavy and continuous rain and snow, and a temperature drop of about 10 degrees compared to the usual temperatures at this time of year.
