The eastern half of the Czech Republic experienced intense thunderstorms on Sunday, with lightning detectors recording more than 10,000 electrical discharges across the country. The severe weather caused local flooding near Svitav and a lightning strike ignited a house roof in the Ostrava region.
The storms began forming during the afternoon along the border of Bohemia and Moravia, where a boundary separated cooler northwestern air from warmer air masses over Moravia. A low-pressure trough and ground-level wind convergence fueled the storm development.
As dynamic conditions became favorable later in the afternoon, the storms merged into a larger system, forming a significant storm line across Moravia. The strongest cores produced heavy rainfall of 15-20mm and pea-sized hail.
In the Vítkovice district of Ostrava, lightning struck a family home, causing a roof fire that required five firefighting units to battle for about an hour. While the damage was estimated at half a million crowns, fortunately, all residents evacuated safely before firefighters arrived.
Looking ahead, milder thunderstorms are expected Monday, particularly in the southern half of the Czech Republic. Tuesday may see scattered storms throughout the country, though they’re predicted to be less intense due to lower available energy, manifesting as isolated, short-lived storm cells.