Watch: Rescuers endure blizzard conditions to reach trapped drivers, clear roads in Eastern Europe

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Romanian rescue crews working in extreme wind, blizzard conditions

Video posted by the Romania General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations shows rescues attempting to remove fallen trees during blizzard conditions. 

Rescue crews are facing extreme weather in Eastern Europe as a winter storm continues to bring blizzard conditions, reducing visibility to near zero across parts of Romania and Ukraine.

The Romanian National Meteorological Administration issued weather warnings for the entire eastern half of the country through Sunday.

Video and photos from Romanian emergency officials (IGSU) show firefighters working to clear trees from completely snow-covered roads in gusty blizzard conditions.

"For more than 3 hours, rescues from Tulcea have been working in extreme weather conditions, removing fallen trees and offering support to people caught in the strong blizzard," IGSU wrote on Facebook, according to Google Translate. 

SAILORS MISSING AFTER GALE-FORCE WINDS SINK FREIGHTER OFF GREEK ISLAND

Romanian officials warned drivers to stay off the road or prepare to travel in blizzard conditions.

Firefighters working to clear roads in winter storm conditions in Romania on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. (Image: IGSU)

Oltenia, south Muntenia, Transylvania and northern Moldova are under Code Yellow warnings. Wind gusts are forecast to reach between 30 and 40 mph with blizzard conditions and low visibility.

In the southwest corner of Romania, including Muntenia, Dobrogea, south Moldova, Curbura and Carpathians, Code Orange warnings are in effect. Intense, sustained winds and gusts up to 55 mph will drop visibility down to 50 meters, according to local forecasts. 

Satellite data shows a winter storm moves off the Black Sea into Eastern Europe bringing blizzard conditions.

(FOX Weather)

Conditions were forecast to be the most severe in southern Carpathians and Curbura, with wind gusts up to nearly 70 mph.

Prior to moving off the Black Sea, the same storm system brought gale-force winds to Greece over the weekend, causing a freighter vessel to sink off the island of Lesbos in the east Aegean Sea. 

The winter storm continues to dump snow on Moldova and Ukraine.

The Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center issued Code Yellow and Orange weather warnings for much of the country on Sunday. Heavy sleet, rain and increasing snow cover are forecast across Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy and Odesa. Nearly a foot of snow is forecast in eastern parts of Ukraine. 

WHAT ARE SNOW SQUALLS AND WHY ARE THEY SO DANGEROUS?

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video on Facebook Sunday saying the winter storm is impacting ten regions within the country, and resources have been deployed to clear roads and restore power. 

Officials with Ukrainian emergency services said crews in the Odesa region have been rescuing trapped drivers, including pulling multiple ambulances and buses from deep snow.