October's average temperature will be close to normal for the month, with highs across Bulgaria reaching 22 to 27 degrees. That's according to meteorologist Krasimir Stoev of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, who spoke to BTA. Lows will fall to between minus 5 and 0 degrees, staying a bit higher in the east.

Along the Black Sea coast the water is still fairly warm, so temperatures there will stay higher, with almost no frost.

Rainfall will be around or above normal. Most of the country normally gets 40 to 70 litres per square metre, while the southeast gets 50 to 100 litres per square metre.

Normal average temperatures for the month run 11 to 15 degrees in the lowlands, 10 to 13 on the high plains, and 0 to 7 degrees in the mountains.

In the first ten days, air will flow in from the northeast, keeping temperatures below normal, though a slight rise is expected around mid-period. Skies will be cloudy with rain in many places right at the start of the month and again around 6-8 October, when the rain could be heavy.

Toward the end of this first spell, a Mediterranean storm will pass through and it will turn colder, mainly at night. Where skies clear and winds drop, frost will form in many places.

In the second ten days, temperatures will rise at first, then clouds will build and the chance of rain will grow until around mid-period. After that, high pressure will move in, bringing dry weather with only patchy cloud in places and fog or low cloud over the lowlands. Cold air pushing in from the northeast along its edge will make it noticeably colder.

Stoev expects unsettled weather with rain, then falling temperatures, at both the start and end of the final ten days. The middle of the period will be calmer, with fog in the lowlands and mostly sunny weather in the mountains.

Stoev called October a typical autumn month. Average daily temperatures drop noticeably, mornings turn cold, and fog becomes more common. Cold air pushes in more often, and the number of cloudy, rainy days grows. The month usually sees 6 to 9 overcast days.

Snow always falls on the highest peaks in October, Stoev said, but there are also plenty of fine days with spells of what feels like "summer's return."

In Sofia, the sun rises at 7:24am and sets at 7:08pm on the first of the month, giving 11 hours and 44 minutes of daylight. By the end of October, sunrise is at 6:59am and sunset at 5:21pm, with daylight down to 10 hours and 22 minutes.

The moon's last quarter falls on 3 October, the new moon on 10 October, the first quarter on 18 October, and the full moon on 26 October.