Wind gusts in Latvia to stay below 15 m/s on Saturday, thunder possible in places

Wind gusts in Latvia will not exceed 15 metres per second on Saturday, according to forecasters at the Latvian Environment, Geology and Meteorology Centre (LVĢMC). The calmer weather follows Friday evening, when warnings for strong wind and storm were in force across the country.

Saturday forecast

Southern and southwestern wind gusts will no longer exceed 15 m/s during the day. The sky will be cloudy with occasional clearing. Rain is expected in western and central districts, with thunderstorms in places. Air temperature will reach around +14...+15 degrees.

At about 7 a.m. on Saturday, gusts reached roughly 16 m/s in Riga's Daugavgriva, 12 m/s in Ventspils and 7 m/s on the Liepaja coast, according to LVĢMC data.

Friday's storm

Over the past 24 hours, the strongest gusts were recorded on Friday evening in Ventspils, where they hit 28 m/s at 8 p.m. On the Liepaja coast gusts reached 25 m/s at 9 p.m., and at the Daugavgriva observation station in Riga they reached 22 m/s at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. Since 11 p.m. the wind has gradually eased at all three stations.

On Friday a yellow-level warning for strong wind was issued in Riga and elsewhere in the country. An orange storm warning remained in force on the western coast of Kurzeme until late evening, and a cell broadcast alert was also sent out.