Storms have arrived in the Czech Republic. Firefighters went to a hundred interventions — ČT24 — Czech Television
Very strong storms are advancing across the Czechia from the south and are accompanied by intense rain and gusts of wind. “There are very strong storms in Pilsen region with totals of around 50 millimeters per hour, wind gusts of around 70 kilometers per hour and hail of around two centimetres,” the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ) said around 9:00 p.m.
According to meteorologist Miloš Dvořák from ČHMÚ, “relatively significant” problems can be expected in the Pilsen region, where the most intense precipitation is expected. “The situation there looks the most serious,” he said after 11:00 p.m. on the ČT24 broadcast.
Shortly before 11:00 p.m., the ČHMÚ reported on Twitter that the storms in many places turned into intense, continuous rain. In Hrádek na Rokycanska, according to meteorologists, an extreme 129 liters of water per square meter fell in three hours, of which 90 liters fell per hour.
Heavy rains are reported by the regions through which the storm band passed, including Táborsko. “At the Olší station, about fifty millimeters fell in one hour during the storm, there are also hailstones of about two centimeters and wind gusts of about seventy kilometers per hour. The storms are progressing through Jistebnicko to the north and northwest. In repeated storms in this area, around seventy millimeters can occasionally fall.
Heavy rain on Friday evening complicated traffic on the D1 highway near Prague. At the fifth kilometer, a lagoon formed, which limited traffic. “We will be cleaning the drains along the highway,” the Prague fire department announced on Twitter an hour before midnight. In total, firefighters in the capital went out to more than twenty interventions caused by the weather. In most cases, they pumped water, they also monitored Botič in Nuslí, where it reached the second level of flood activity.
Dvořák said that it is also raining in the northeast of Moravia, but the precipitation in the area is not so intense. Also, the rain in the Liberec and Ústí regions should not cause major problems.
Storms are expected to be weaker in the east, but the high temperature warning remains in place
In Plzeňské and part of the South Bohemian Region, due to heavy rainfall, a flood alert is also in effect from 3:00 p.m. until noon on Saturday. It means the risk of rising water levels, but the water is not yet overflowing from the banks.
Meteorologists also warn that in thunderstorms, wind gusts can uproot trees and break branches, hail and lightning are also dangerous. “It is necessary to secure windows, doors, greenhouses, loose objects and the like. Do not enter or drive into flowing water and flooded areas,” they said. They also encourage caution when driving.
In the rest of the Czech Republic, a warning for thunderstorms with a low level of danger is also valid from 14:00 until two hours after midnight. In the South Moravian, Moravian-Silesian, Zlín and Olomouc regions, the same warning is issued from Friday 20:00 until Saturday morning. Totals in these storms can be about thirty millimeters. However, there is also a risk of hail and strong gusts of wind in these places.
It will continue in some places on Saturday
According to Dvořák, the most intense precipitation will move to the northeast and east of Moravia and Silesia on Saturday. “It will be a combination of very strong thunderstorms and rain. We expect that with the combination of these meteorological phenomena, there could be around 60 or 70 millimeters of rain in some places,” he said.
Smaller flows will respond to precipitation during Saturday evening and Sunday night, he warned.