Social media has been alive with video and picture footage from the storm and its trail of destruction, many of them relayed by weatherman Toms Bricis. Estonia and Lithuania are also being affected by the extreme weather conditions.
Brīdis, kad vētra Kroņaucē lauž kokus pic.twitter.com/IUMTZggebR
— Toms Bricis (@boms_tricis) August 7, 2023
Krusa Dobeles novada Naudītē pic.twitter.com/ihXvzPIYWY
— Toms Bricis (@boms_tricis) August 7, 2023
Timelapse photography from Latvian Television showed storms brewing over the capital.
Negaisa fronte, kas sasniegusi Rīgu, ir jauna un nav tā pati, kas nesa postījumus Dobeles pusē. pic.twitter.com/3f4kHlht9b
— LTV Ziņu dienests (@ltvzinas) August 7, 2023
As previously reported, the storm is crossing the country from west to east and by mid-afternoon had reached central districts, with a red warning in place for parts of the country still to feel the strength of its blast. Several thousand homes are reportedly without electricity.
During the first half of the day the storms crossed western Kurzeme region. 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.
