• Polar vortex winds at 60°N drop from 22.13 to 5.44 m/s in eight days in rare November disruption; major SSW remains forecast

    ByRishav Kothari

    A rare November disruption of the Northern Hemisphere stratospheric polar vortex is underway, with the daily-mean wind at 60°N and 10 hPa weakening from 22.13 m/s (49.5 mph) on October 25 to 5.44 m/s (12.2 mph) on November 2. Forecast guidance continues to indicate a possible brief reversal during the second week of November, which would meet the defining wind-reversal threshold used to identify a major sudden stratospheric warming, while any surface-weather response remains uncertain.

  • Thunderstorms, heavy rainfall and flash flood risk forecast across northern Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, ending late-summer heat

    ByRishav Kothari

    Widespread thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall are forecast across northern Italy, Slovenia and Croatia on September 9, 2026, with intense rainfall posing a risk of rapid rises in torrential watercourses and localized flash flooding. A marked temperature drop is also forecast behind the system, bringing substantially cooler conditions to northern Italy and parts of the Alpine and northern Adriatic region after the recent late-summer heat.

  • Portugal breaks national May temperature record with 40.3°C (104.5°F) in Mora

    ByTeo Blašković

    Portugal set a new national May temperature record on May 27, 2026, after Mora reached 40.3°C (104.5°F) during an early-season heatwave, according to the Portuguese Institute for Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA). The reading surpassed the previous May extreme of 40°C (104°F), recorded at Pinhão on May 30, 1953, and matched at Termas de Monfortinho on May 30 and 31, 2001.

  • Severe storms continue from the Adriatic into the Balkans, Level 2 risk shifts toward Bulgaria, Romania and NW Turkey

    ByTeo Blašković

    Severe thunderstorms continued across parts of northern Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and the western Balkans on Monday, May 11, 2026. ESTOFEX forecasters warn the severe weather corridor is expected to shift east on Tuesday, with Level 2 risk areas extending from southeastern Romania through Bulgaria into northeastern Greece and northwestern Turkey. Large hail, localized heavy rainfall, and severe wind gusts remain the primary hazards.

  • Rare high-impact windstorm hits Zagreb, Croatia, in one of the city’s strongest wind episodes on record

    ByTeo Blašković

    One of the strongest wind episodes on record in Zagreb, and the most intense in the modern Zagreb-Maksimir measurement record, struck the Croatian capital on March 27, 2026, with gusts exceeding 120 km/h (75 mph), causing widespread damage, major transport disruption, and multiple injuries, including two serious cases reported by authorities.

  • Major polar vortex disruption brings Arctic surges across North America and Europe through January and early February

    ByRishav Kothari

    A major polar vortex disruption has begun and is forecast to send Arctic air into much of North America and Europe through mid and late January 2026. The event will bring freezing temperatures and winter weather as the vortex weakens following a stratospheric warming episode. A second, stronger outbreak is forecast to occur during the last part of January as the core of the vortex splits into two halves, each driving cold Arctic air into Europe and North America in February.

  • Arctic cold wave freezes Lapland airports, disrupts travel across northern Europe

    ByTeo Blašković

    Thousands of tourists were stranded in northern Finland on January 11, 2026, after flights at Kittilä Airport were canceled due to extreme cold that made de-icing and fueling operations impossible. Temperatures dropped to −37°C (−34.6°F), one of the lowest readings of the winter season, amid a wider Arctic cold outbreak affecting large parts of northern and central Europe.