The Czech Republic is bracing for very strong thunderstorms that meteorologists warn will bring torrential rain, hail, and damaging wind gusts across the country on Tuesday. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute issued a second-degree alert effective from 11:00 to 22:00 on July 14, forecasting rainfall totals near 50 mm, hailstones around 2 cm in diameter, and wind gusts up to 90 km/h.
The storms arrive during an above-average warm spell with afternoon temperatures exceeding 25 °C across most of the country and surpassing 30 °C in South Moravia and the eastern Elbe lowlands. A separate heat-stress warning covers those southern and eastern regions. Temperatures are expected to dip slightly on Wednesday before climbing back above 30 °C in the warmest areas from Thursday.
Despite the downpours, forecasters say rainfall will remain only local and will not alleviate the ongoing drought.