Relief is coming: Severe storms and hail hit Hungary as cooler weather arrives

After weeks of scorching heat, Hungary is finally seeing a break in the extreme temperatures, though the change in weather has not arrived quietly. On Sunday, widespread thunderstorms, heavy rain, and even hail are expected across the country, prompting second-level (orange) weather alerts in several counties.

According to HungaroMet, much of Hungary will remain under cloudy skies throughout the day, with frequent showers, thunderstorms, and locally intense downpours expected. Even areas where rain is less persistent will see limited sunshine. The storms could be accompanied by hail and strong wind gusts, especially in eastern regions such as the Great Hungarian Plain (Alföld), where severe weather conditions are more likely.

Orange alerts across the country

Due to the risk of thunderstorms, the national weather service has issued orange alerts for Békés, Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén, Csongrád-Csanád, Hajdú-Bihar, Heves, Nógrád, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg, and Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties. In addition, a second-level warning for heavy rain is in place for Pest, Baranya, Bács-Kiskun, Fejér, Heves, Tolna, and several other counties.

The storms may bring flash floods and localised damage due to heavy precipitation and wind. Wind gusts could become especially strong during thunderstorms, reaching potentially damaging speeds in the eastern and southeastern regions.