Romania under red, orange and yellow weather alerts as heatwave peaks at 41°C before storms sweep in
Romania's National Meteorology Administration issued red, orange and yellow alerts on Thursday as a heatwave pushed temperatures to 41°C in the western plains, with severe storms forecast to follow across most of the country.
Red-code heat in seven western counties
Seven western counties remain under a red-code heat alert: Maramureș, Satu Mare, Sălaj, Bihor, Arad, Timiș and Caraș-Severin. Maximum temperatures in these counties reach 37 to 39 degrees in Maramureș, Satu Mare and Sălaj, and 39 to 41 degrees in Bihor, Arad, Timiș and Caraș-Severin, with the highest values expected in the Western Plain. The temperature-humidity index (ITU) exceeds the critical threshold of 80 units. Tropical nights bring minima of 24 to 25 degrees, with the highest values in the Western Hills.
An orange-code heat alert covers Moldova, Oltenia, most of Transylvania, and the south-west and centre of Muntenia, where maximum temperatures sit between 35 and 38 degrees. A yellow-code alert applies to Dobrogea, northern and eastern Muntenia, and eastern Transylvania, with maxima between 29 and 30 degrees in eastern and south-eastern Transylvania and 36 to 37 degrees in Muntenia. Tropical nights with minima of 20 to 24 degrees are forecast, the highest on the coast.
- W. Plain (Bihor-Arad-Timiș-Caraș-Severin)
- 41 °C
- Maramureș-Satu Mare-Sălaj
- 39 °C
- Moldova-Oltenia-Transilvania-SW Muntenia
- 38 °C
- Muntenia (yellow code)
- 37 °C
- Bucharest
- 36 °C
- E/SE Transylvania
- 30 °C
Storm alerts follow the heat
From 12:00 on Thursday until 23:00, ANM has issued orange and yellow storm alerts across nearly the entire country. An orange-code storm alert covers northern Moldova, Maramureș, Oltenia, eastern Transylvania and western Muntenia, with wind gusts of 70 to 90 km/h and hail up to 4 centimetres. Rainfall may locally exceed 50 litres per square metre in just a few hours.
A yellow-code storm alert covers Banat, Crișana, western Transylvania, southern Moldova and most of Muntenia. Wind gusts of 50 to 70 km/h are expected, locally exceeding 80 km/h, with torrential rain, lightning and small hail of 1 to 2 centimetres. In short intervals of 1 to 3 hours, rainfall amounts of 15 to 20 litres per square metre are forecast, reaching 30 to 50 litres per square metre in mountainous areas.
- Heat alerts (red, orange, yellow) enter into force across Romania
- Storm alerts (orange, yellow) enter into force
- Peak storm window in Bucharest, gusts over 80 km/h expected
- Storm alerts expire
- Heatwave begins to diminish in north-west, centre and east
- Heatwave retreats to west and south
Bucharest forecast
Bucharest remains under a heatwave alert from Thursday 10:00 to Sunday 10:00, covering persistent heat, extreme temperatures, thermal discomfort, tropical nights and atmospheric instability. An orange-code heat alert is in effect from Thursday 10:00 to Friday 10:00, with maximum temperatures around 36 degrees and minima of 19 to 21 degrees. A yellow-code storm alert runs from 12:00 to 23:00 on Thursday, with wind gusts expected to exceed 80 km/h between 15:00 and 18:00 and rainfall of 5 to 15 litres per square metre, possibly over 20.
Friday brings a slight drop to around 35 degrees, and Saturday to around 34 degrees, though the ITU continues to exceed 80. Afternoon and evening instability persists on both days, with wind speeds of 40 to 50 km/h and scattered showers.
Heatwave retreats west and south
Thursday is the hottest day of the current spell, according to the ANM update valid until Sunday 9 August. The heatwave begins to diminish on Friday in the north-west, centre and locally in the east, and on Saturday it retreats towards the west and south. Friday and Saturday see a gradual decline, though maximum temperatures remain above 35 degrees in the south-west and south. Tropical nights continue in southern regions, with minima of 20 to 24 degrees.
Atmospheric instability repeats on Friday, especially in the west and centre of the country, with torrential showers, lightning, wind intensification and isolated hail. By Saturday, instability is confined to mountainous and sub-mountainous areas, locally in the centre, south and south-west.
