Croatia’s state meteorological service (DHMZ) on Wednesday issued special warnings ahead of severe weather expected to hit much of the country over the next two days, with forecasters predicting heavy rain, thunderstorms and strong winds that could trigger flash floods and coastal hazards.
After a brief spell of stable and less hot weather early this week, conditions are forecast to deteriorate from late Wednesday, intensifying on Thursday and Friday as a Mediterranean cyclone moves across the northern Adriatic and inland Croatia, DHMZ said in a statement.
Storms and strong winds expected
Meteorologists warned of “very unstable” atmospheric conditions, with moist and unstable air flowing in from the southwest. Showers and thunderstorms are expected to begin along the northern Adriatic coast before spreading to other regions on Thursday and Friday.
Forecasters said localised severe storms could bring intense downpours, hail and gale-force winds, raising the risk of flash flooding in urban areas and mountain valleys, especially in northern Adriatic regions, parts of Dalmatia and Gorski Kotar. Waterspouts were also possible at sea, DHMZ said.
On the coast, strong southerly and southwesterly winds (jugo) are expected, locally reaching storm force, while inland areas may also experience damaging gusts accompanying thunderstorms. From Friday, cooler air will arrive, with northerly winds and bura developing over the northern Adriatic, though conditions will remain unstable.
The Meteoalarm system placed Istria and Kvarner under an orange alert on Wednesday for potential severe thunderstorms, while Karlovac and Gospić regions were under a yellow alert. Earlier in the day, only a yellow warning had been in place for the northern Adriatic.
By Thursday, warnings will cover the entire country: yellow alerts for most inland regions due to thunderstorms, and orange alerts for coastal areas because of heavy rain, strong winds and possible severe storms. The orange warning was extended to Osijek in eastern Croatia on Wednesday afternoon.
Temperature drop expected
Daytime highs on Wednesday were forecast at 30–32 degrees Celsius in eastern Croatia, around 30 degrees in central areas, and 23–28 degrees on the northern coast and in mountain regions. Southern Dalmatia and Dubrovnik were expected to remain hot, with highs near 30 degrees.
From Thursday, rain will become more widespread and temperatures will drop, particularly inland. The service warned of possible “abundant rainfall” in mountainous areas and the Dalmatian hinterland.
By the weekend, conditions are expected to improve gradually, with partly sunny weather on Saturday, although instability may linger in some areas.
DHMZ urged citizens to monitor official forecasts and warnings regularly at meteo.hr, noting the potential for sudden severe weather events.
“Given the unstable conditions and high likelihood of localised thunderstorms accompanied by storm-force winds and heavy rain, caution is necessary,” the agency said.