Strong winds are disrupting transport in the Czech Republic. It will also snow.

Warnings and forecast

The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ) warns that during Sunday morning a southwesterly to westerly wind is strengthening across the area, which in Bohemia reaches gusts locally around 70 km/h, with partial weakening in the evening. The daytime weather will be mostly cloudy to overcast with showers, more frequent in the mountains and in the afternoon also in the northern half of the territory, around 3 °C at 1000 m and with fresh winds of 5–10 m/s with gusts up to around 20 m/s in Bohemia.

At higher elevations snowfall is adding, starting during the day in bands above 800–900 m, with 5 to 20 cm of wet and heavy snow possible above 900 m. On Sněžka the highest wind gust recorded during the day was 76 km/h, which corresponds to the warnings issued for exposed areas.

Impacts and risks

Meteorologists warn of complications to transport related to strong winds and snowfall in higher elevations and recommend increased caution. The risks mainly include side gusts of wind on roads and reduced visibility in showers, especially in the northern half of the territory.

In the mountains wet and heavy snow can weigh down branches and power lines, increasing the likelihood of local tree falls and power outages. In the evening precipitation will ease in places; however, at night cloudiness will increase again from the west and rain will return in the west and southwest, with snowfall above 700 m.

Fire brigade responses

During the day firefighters across the regions have been handling mainly technical interventions, rescues of people and traffic accidents, as evidenced by a series of incidents particularly in the Pardubice Region. Repeated call-outs for technical assistance, accidents and rescues were reported during the day, for example in Chocni, Moravské Třebové, Koclířově, Poličce, Pardubicích, Brandýse nad Orlicí či Králíkách.

The composition of responses today includes technical assistance in municipalities across the region, rescues of people and animals, and traffic incidents, which corresponds to the windy and precipitation-rich weather during the day. Dispatch centers continuously provide updates on ongoing and completed responses, with the number of incidents remaining elevated during the afternoon and evening.

What to expect next

According to the forecast, during the evening the wind will partially weaken, but will remain fresh especially in exposed locations, and precipitation will ease in places. On the night to Monday cloudiness will increase again from the west with rain and snowfall above 700–900 m, with up to around 20 cm of new snow possible in the higher parts of the Šumava by Monday.