Musician Lauris Reiniks shares storm footage from Slovakia as Latvia braces for severe weather

Latvian musician and TV personality Lauris Reiniks shared a video on the social network Threads showing a powerful storm that hit Bratislava, Slovakia, on Thursday, August 20. He commented that if a similar storm were heading toward Latvia, he would understand the decision to cancel many of Saturday's planned concerts, though he added it remains unclear whether Latvia will face a storm of the same scale.

Foreign media reported that after weeks of drought and heat, the storm brought much-needed rain to parts of Slovakia on Thursday night, but also caused damage, power outages and traffic disruptions. In Kajal, a village near Galanta in southern Slovakia, a state of emergency was declared after high-voltage power lines were damaged, leaving the village without electricity, drinking water and a functioning sewage system. Falling trees and branches injured several people.

Red warning issued in Latvia

Similar weather is expected in Latvia, where forecasters predict prolonged, extremely heavy rain in the country's central districts on Saturday. As a result, the warning level has been raised to red by the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC) and the State Fire and Rescue Service (VUGD). The warning covers the area around Riga, Jelgava and the Vidzeme coast of the Gulf of Riga, and is in effect from 9:00 Saturday until 2:00 Sunday.

LVĢMC warned that the extreme rainfall could cause widespread flooding affecting properties, transport infrastructure, crop fields and gardens. Residents are urged to leave at-risk areas and follow instructions from responsible authorities. Disruptions to electricity, water supply and telecommunications are also considered likely. For this reason, numerous outdoor events across Latvia have been cancelled.

Winds are expected to strengthen through the day, with gusts along the gulf coast reaching 25-30 m/s in the evening. Air temperatures across the country will not exceed +16 to +18 degrees. Conditions are expected to ease only in the second half of the night into Sunday.