One of the first hot days in Carinthia ended in the evening with violent thunderstorms in several districts – the regions around St. Veit and Spittal an der Drau were particularly affected. Around 7 p.m., Ubimet issued the highest storm warning level for Villach-Land and Klagenfurt-Land.
Hail as big as table tennis balls, violent thunderstorms and heavy rain occupied many Carinthians on Wednesday evening. “A total of 30 fire brigade operations are currently running, mostly in the districts of St. Veit and Spittal an der Drau,” informs the LAWZ. The emergency services have to deal with flooding, fallen trees and damaged roofs. There is a risk of aquaplaning on motorways.Moss flows and overflowing streamsSkywarn Austria also warns of a severe thunderstorm right outside the gates of Villach. Although there were severe storms all over Austria, the focus was on Carinthia and in the Weinviertel. The hailstones, some of which were 5-8 centimeters in size, also brought traffic to a standstill on the B100 Drautalstraße – the police had to move out. At the same time, firefighters tried to clear the street of uprooted trees. “Traffic was severely hampered in the area between Mitterbreite in the municipality of Lurnfeld and Spittal from 5:45 p.m. to 6:30 p.m..” The L19 Innerkremser Straße in the Innerkrems area is also closed due to a mudslide and overflowing streams. The highest storm warning level has been in effect for the Klagenfurt-Land and Villach-Land districts since around 7 p.m. The Carinthian power grid was also damaged by storms and weather. Robert Schmaranz from the Kärnten Netz: “Fortunately, it wasn’t that bad!” In the beginning, the electricity failed in about 1000 households – especially in Spittal, Seeboden and around Lake Millstatt: “Meanwhile there are still 350!” Power lines were damaged by fallen trees. Around 6 p.m., gusts of wind up to 96 km/h were also measured in Millstatt. Heavy hail fell in Arnoldstein (see video below). Rescued from distress at Lake Millstättersee, three swimmers were also searched for in the area of the Millstatt lido due to the storm. “The FF Millstatt and the Ferndorf water rescue service were able to identify the alleged swimmers as several buoys in this area,” reports the Carinthian police. But the false alarm turned out to be a stroke of luck for a 31-year-old foil surfer (that’s what surfing without a sail) is! Because the Millstatt police boat noticed the man from the Feldkirchen district in the middle of the lake! “Due to the adverse weather conditions, he was rescued from his distress at sea and brought safely to shore,” says the emergency services. This article is constantly updated.
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