Hot and stormy Monday expected

During the first half of the day, showers with thunderstorms are expected in Kurzeme region. Locally, the rain will be very heavy, causing temporary flooding, with possible hail stones also thrown into the mix. Strong gusts of wind may cause damage to tree branches and buildings.

In the afternoon and evening, the storms will form in more central and eastern parts of Latvia. Caution should be exercised when a storm is approaching, the safest thing to do during a storm is to stay indoors. If a storm strikes during a car journey, making visibility poor and driving dangerous you should pull over to the side of the road away from trees or structures that the wind could knock down.

Heavy rains could cause streets to flood in Rīga and other urban districts if drains are overwhelmed.

The Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Center (LVĢMC) has issued an orange level warning ('danger') about the upcoming storms, which will be valid throughout the country from 13:00 to midnight. This does not mean that storms will necessarily rage throughout the whole country, but that there is a high risk of thunderstorms in various places across the country. Devastating storms tend to affect relatively small areas.

Later in the day, the LVĢMC issued a red alert on even more severe weather in the western and central part of the country. Some areas, like the Dobele municipality, have already endured strong hailing. 

Even outside storms, the wind will be gusty up to 10-15 meters per second and will blow from the east to southeast, but in Kurzeme it will turn from the south to southwest.

The maximum air temperature in most parts of the country will reach from 28 Celsius to 33 Celsius, slightly cooler in Kurzeme. Once the thunderstorms have passed in the afternoon and evening, temperatures are expected to drop in other parts of the country as well.