While some territories located primarily in the central area around Riga have seen plenty of summer’s familiar thundershowers, the extreme ends of the western Kurzeme coastline, as well as some deep inland border regions have seen barely any rain at all.
According to the state Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC), Riga and its surroundings saw the most rain since August 1, already measured at 20-30% in excess of average levels for the whole month.
Meanwhile, Latvia’s easternmost border areas and coastal extremities have languished in a drought, with precipitation less than 15% of accustomed averages for this time of year.
The driest points in the country are Alūksne, where 5mm of rain makes up only 6% of levels normally seen by mid-August; and the Kurzeme coastal communities of Rucava in the far south, which has measured only 8mm of rain so far in August, and Kolka point (10mm) where the Gulf of Riga meets the Baltic sea.
However, short-term forecasts call for scattered rain precisely in these drier areas, and less precipitation in those that have already seen lots of moisture. Forecasts call for more rain on the Kurzeme coast Wednesday and Thursday, with eastern Latgale also expecting widely scattered showers Thursday.
Air temperatures are expected to reach highs of +20 to +24 degrees Celsius Wednesday, with overnight lows between +11 and +18, says the LVĢMC.
