Strong winds topple trees and cause over 40,000 power outages in Lithuania

More than 40,000 power supply disruptions were recorded over the weekend as strong winds toppled trees across Lithuania, state broadcaster LRT reports.

Rasa Juodkienė, a representative of Lithuania’s electricity distribution operator (ESO), told the Baltic News Service (BNS) that outages began increasing on Sunday afternoon due to high winds. While most were resolved within minutes, around 300 customers remained without power as of Monday.

“Over 40,000 disruptions were recorded over the weekend, affecting that many consumers. However, most were resolved quickly—within three minutes—thanks to system automation,” Juodkienė said.

Meteorological data showed wind gusts reaching 15–18 m/s in some areas on Saturday evening, with Šilutė and Ventė experiencing speeds of 21–22 m/s. On Sunday, winds of 15–19 m/s were widespread, peaking at 23 m/s in certain regions.

Firefighters responded to 93 calls to remove fallen trees blocking roads, primarily in Tauragė district (19 incidents), followed by Alytus (13), Šiauliai (10), Vilnius, and Panevėžys (9 each). The figures exclude downed power poles, signs, and other structures.

Incidents included a fallen tree severing power lines in Domaičiai village (Šilutė district), a collapsed tree damaging a car in Kaunas, and three large trees blocking a road in Pagramdinė (Prienai district). In Mozūriškės (Kaunas district), a power pole fell onto a car, cutting electricity supply. Firefighters in Prienai also had to clear a tree obstructing their response to a grass fire.

In Paluobiai (Šakiai district), a tree fell onto a street and a Volvo car, while in Jurbarkas, another tree collapsed onto a vehicle. In Veliuona, three trees in a park posed a hazard, with one uprooted and two leaning dangerously. Firefighters secured the area until residents removed the trees with their own equipment.