Strong severe weather accompanied by hail and heavy rain hit parts of Gorski Kotar and Lika on Wednesday, 15 July. Roads, courtyards and gardens in the affected areas were briefly whitened by ice.
According to posts by residents on social media, reported by the Rijeka Danas portal, hail fell across the wider area of Vrbovsko, Ogulin and Brod Moravica, as well as in Jablan and Modruš. The storm system moved quickly, and footage from the ground shows a layer of ice that covered roads within minutes.
Damage has also been reported in Lika. In the vicinity of Brinje, hail damaged vegetable patches, fruit trees and other agricultural crops, with some pieces of ice measuring several centimetres in diameter, according to Lika Club. Locals described how the sky darkened very quickly, the hail lasted only a few minutes, and then the weather cleared again. The true extent of the damage will only be known after a more detailed inspection of the affected areas.
The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service forecast predominantly sunny but not entirely stable weather for Wednesday, with scattered showers and thunderstorms, especially towards the evening. Maximum daily temperatures ranged between 30 and 34 degrees.
Unstable weather is also expected overnight and during the first half of Thursday, with scattered rain, showers and thunderstorms, while conditions should gradually calm down in the afternoon. Along the northern and central Adriatic, showers may be accompanied by strong northwesterly winds and bura gusts, with storm-force gusts in places.
