First casualties

Heat now followed by storms in many places

Storm damage after a strong thunderstorm front in Salzburg on Monday evening

(Bild: APA/Freiwillige Feuerwehr St. Johann)

No sooner had the warmest day of the year so far been measured in Lower Austria on Wednesday, at 36.9 degrees Celsius, than thunderstorms followed. In Carinthia, trees fell onto cars, injuring three people.

The incident occurred in the afternoon in the municipality of Stockenboi (Villach-Land district). Fire department operations were also reported in the Gailtal and Spittal districts. The severe weather center (UWZ) reported thunderstorms and hail for the state of Carinthia on Wednesday evening (as of 7.55 pm). This was lifted a few hours later.

Hottest day of the year
Severe weather warnings with thunderstorms and hail were issued late in the evening (11.18 pm) for Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg and Burgenland. In Lower Austria, the hottest day of the year so far was reported earlier. According to Geosphere Austria, 36.9 degrees Celsius were recorded in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg (Bruck an der Leitha district). That was half a degree more than the previous value - 36.4 degrees on June 30 at the Vienna Innere Stadt weather station.

Here you can see the tweet about the record day from Geosphere Austria.

Flooding in Vorarlberg
Tyrol and Vienna were at level orange. There were severe weather warnings for Styria and Vorarlberg on Wednesday evening. More than 40 fire department operations were reported in Vorarlberg, mainly in the greater Feldkirch area, Lustenau and Dornbirn. The storm winds with gusts of over 60 km/h toppled trees and occasionally covered roofs. Cellars and underpasses were flooded. In Fraxern (Feldkirchen district), more than 35 liters of rain per square meter fell within a very short time.

There were no more severe weather warnings in Carinthia on Thursday night.

Here you can see webcam images from Vorarlberg.

Outlook
According to the UWZ, a few showers and thunderstorms are still to be expected throughout Austria in the night to Thursday. These will last longest in the north. On the holiday, sun and clouds will alternate, and apart from a few showers in the north, it will be mostly dry. Only in the Mühlviertel and Waldviertel (Upper and Lower Austria) is a thunderstorm not out of the question.

Friday will also begin with sun and clouds, with the possibility of showers and heavy thunderstorms from midday from Vorarlberg to Upper Styria. In the east and northern Alpine foothills, however, it will remain dry and mostly sunny.