Heavy rain floods streets as hail hits parts of Lithuania

Heavy rain and thunderstorms have flooded streets in parts of Lithuania, while hail was reported in Kaunas district on the first day of autumn, LRT reported.

An area of intense precipitation with thunderstorms and small hail is moving across the country as a cold atmospheric front passes through Lithuania, according to forecasters from LHMT.

Telšiai received 34 millimetres of rain in about two hours, equivalent to nearly two weeks of September rainfall. Residents reported that several streets there were temporarily heavily flooded. Heavy rain also passed over the meteorological stations in Laukuva, in Šilalė district, and Tauragė.

Forecasters warned that heavy rain could make driving conditions difficult and cause temporary flooding on sections of roads and in lower-lying areas. As of noon, the most active thunderstorm clouds were moving through Šiauliai, Tauragė, Marijampolė and Utena counties.

The rain systems were expected to move north-east in the following hours, while new storm clouds were forecast to form in southern Lithuania. Hail was reported in Kaunas district shortly before 2 p.m.

Radar data indicated that the rain clouds could reach Vilnius between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Thunderstorms, heavy rain, wind gusts of up to 15 to 17 metres per second and small hail were possible there.