RHMZ Alert: Weekend Eases, but Wildfire Risk Persists
The peak of the heat wave has passed and weekend highs drop to 32 to 36 degrees, but RHMZ keeps its extreme wildfire warning through August 9, with highs back to 39 by August 12.
Does the weekend mean the heat is over? Not quite, but it does mean a break. The Republic Hydrometeorological Institute of Serbia (RHMZ) has lowered weekend highs to 32 to 36 degrees, while keeping its warning for extreme wildfire conditions in place through August 9.
Earlier this week we wrote about when the cooler air would arrive. It has, and the numbers show it. In Belgrade, Friday’s daily high hit around 37 degrees, while Saturday morning started at about 23 degrees, with a daytime high of 33 and a moderate northwest wind. The difference is noticeable on your skin. It is not noticeable on dry ground.
Why the Warning Stays in Place Even as Temperatures Drop
The warning was issued on August 7 at 7:09 a.m. and covers the period from August 7 to August 9. It was not triggered by a single hot day but by a stretch of them. The heat wave began in late July, and the vegetation and soil dried out over that time, a condition that persists even once the thermometer starts to drop. RHMZ states that the risk of wildfires starting and spreading “remains very high to extreme.”
The mechanism worrying meteorologists has nothing to do with human carelessness. RHMZ described it in the same warning like this:
lightning strikes can spark initial fire outbreaks, while strong wind can cause fires to spread rapidly
Translated into weekend terms: thunder can start fires on its own. Showers were forecast for up to about 50 percent of the territory on Friday, while on Saturday and Sunday the thunderstorm activity is more localized, mostly in the hilly and mountainous areas of southwestern, southern and eastern Serbia. For August 8, RHMZ put the probability of highs of 35 degrees or above at 90 percent, and the same 90 percent for local thunderstorms.
The Meteoalarm Color Changes Day to Day
The alert color is not the same for three days running, so it is worth checking each morning rather than once on Monday for the whole week.
- August 7: orange across all of Serbia
- August 8: orange in the east and southeast, yellow elsewhere
- August 9: yellow everywhere except Backa and Banat
Yellow is not green. At that level, RHMZ says the forecast weather is not unusual, but caution is still needed for any activity exposed to weather risk.
What Should You Check Before Heading Outdoors?
- Check the meteoalarm color for your district that same morning, not the day before.
- If you are heading to southwestern, southern or eastern Serbia, expect afternoon thunderstorms and gusty winds, and plan to be back before noon.
- Open fires, burning weeds and grilling on dry grass are all off the table while the warning is active.
- In the mountains, move off an open ridge as soon as a cloud starts building, because lightning arrives before the rain does.
- Smoke in the distance is not someone else’s problem, report it by calling 193.
The Break Is Shorter Than It Looks
This is not the end of the hot season, just a two day pause. By Monday, August 10, highs climb back to 34 to 37 degrees, on Tuesday to 34 to 38, and for the period from August 12 to 16 RHMZ is forecasting mostly sunny and warm weather with daily highs of 34 to 39 degrees, with only isolated, short lived rain.
There is a consequence worth naming early. If little or no rain falls over the next five days, the ground will meet the next heat wave just as dry as this one, only with a few more days of sun behind it. Our advice: whatever you want to do outdoors, do it Saturday and Sunday morning. The next window looks narrower.
