Calm before the storm to hold until Saturday morning in Latvia
Meteorologists say Latvia will still see relatively calm weather into Saturday morning before a powerful summer cyclone crosses the country later that day, bringing heavy rain and destructive winds.
Forecasters report that the overnight hours into Saturday and the early morning will remain fairly calm across Latvia, as the approaching cyclone has not yet reached the country. Cloud cover will gradually build, with brief rain showers in some areas and fog forming widely, while the south of the country will see rain beginning already in the morning. Winds overnight will be light, with temperatures dropping to +10..+16 degrees.
A rainy day ahead
During the day, skies will be cloudy with rain, heaviest in the western and central parts of the country, where thunderstorms cannot be ruled out in places. Only Latgale in the east is expected to see sunshine. Daytime highs will reach +14..+20 degrees, with up to +24 degrees possible in the southeast.
Storm arrives in the evening
From the afternoon onward, conditions will shift quickly as the cyclone's center approaches. In the evening and overnight into Sunday, westerly wind gusts of 20-30 meters per second are expected, with gusts along the Vidzeme coast potentially exceeding 30 meters per second in places.
In Riga, no precipitation is expected overnight into Saturday, but heavy rain, possibly with thunder, is forecast during the day. Easterly gusts up to 15 meters per second are expected in the capital during the day, with temperatures reaching +18 degrees, while in the evening and overnight into Sunday wind gusts may strengthen to 28 meters per second.
The Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre has already issued an orange-level warning for most of the country, covering heavy rain from Saturday morning and strengthening wind from the afternoon. The cyclone, which will cross Latvia from the south on Saturday and overnight into Sunday, is unusually powerful for summer and is expected to bring intense downpours and significant wind damage. Lighter rain is expected to continue on Sunday and into early next week, before drier weather returns later in the week.
