In the foothills of the western Krkonoše Mountains and the Jeseníky Mountains, snowmelt may raise stream levels from noon on Monday, meteorologists warn. Up to a second flood level on rivers is expected in the Pošumava region. This follows a warning issued today by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ).
The Czech Republic has warmed up considerably in recent days, with many decades-old temperature records broken at most of the Czech National Weather Service’s stations on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The highest temperatures measured on both days exceeded 15 degrees Celsius, and the 15.7 degrees in Kopiste in Most was even the highest New Year’s temperature ever recorded in the whole Czech Republic. The snow on the mountains is diminishing so fast.
In the foothills of the Jeseníky and western Krkonoše mountains, there is no risk of water spilling over the banks, but waterlogged trees may fall, according to the warning. People should therefore not move in stream beds or go out in boats. The warning is valid until further notice for the area of Jilemnice, Semily, Tanvald and Železný Brod, below the Jeseníky Mountains for the area of Králíky, Rýmařov, Jeseník, Šumperk and Zábřeh.
The same warning is valid from 18:00 on Monday until noon on Wednesday for the foothills of the central Šumava, where meteorologists say the levels in some sections of the upper Otava and Vltava basins above the Lipno dam may rise to the second flood alert level. People should be careful in the areas of Český Krumlov, Prachatice, Strakonice, Vimperk, Horažďovice and Sušice.
In most places, only the first flood alert levels have been in place in the Podkrkonoší and the Beskydy Mountains in some places in the past few days. The melting of snow in the mountains may be stopped only by a cooling forecast for Wednesday. On Thursday, it should freeze again at night and it may also snow.