After storms and a cool Monday, heatwave returns to Czechia — up to 36°C by week's end

After Sunday's storms and Monday's cooldown, the weather in Czechia is set to swing dramatically once again: starting as early as Tuesday, temperatures will begin climbing back up, with highs of up to 36°C expected by the end of the week, according to meteorologists from meteocentrum.cz and meteopress.cz.

On Sunday, warm air will continue to dominate the country — morning temperatures won't drop below 10°C, while daytime highs will reach a tropical 30°C. However, a cold front will start moving in from the southwest, bringing increased cloud cover, scattered rain, and — in southern and southwestern Czechia — thunderstorms with up to 15 millimetres of rainfall, according to meteorologist Dominik Novotný.

Monday is forecast to be the coldest and rainiest day of the week, with daytime temperatures reaching only 20–25°C and winds picking up, said meteorologist Jan Horák.

But from Tuesday onward, the clouds will start to clear and temperatures will rise: daytime highs will climb to around 27°C, with only the northeast staying cooler at around 23°C.

By mid-Wednesday, the heat will return in earnest, with temperatures once again topping 30°C — and by the end of the week, some forecasts suggest they could reach as high as 36°C. The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute noted on social media platform X that around the turn of July into August, some mobile weather apps using the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model (including Norwegian services) are already projecting temperatures of around 40°C for Czechia. The institute stressed, however, that this forecast remains preliminary and subject to revision.

Other experts share similar assessments. According to Novotný, the ECMWF model also points to a possible return of a heatwave with temperatures above 30°C, and locally above 35°C, though this data should still be treated with caution. A clearer picture, he says, should emerge closer to the following weekend — which, according to current forecasts, is when the heat could hit its peak.

Meteorologist Dagmar Honsová believes that temperatures will once again approach 40°C in early August, with a weather pattern similar to the one seen at the end of June, when a mass of hot, Saharan-origin air moved into Czechia from western Europe.

Given the expected heat, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute will likely start gradually issuing relevant warnings for the public.

Long-range forecasts suggest the warm spell could last through the end of the summer holidays. The hottest stretch is expected in the first ten days of August, when daytime temperatures are likely to stay consistently above 30°C. According to Novotný, none of the weeks in August point to a prolonged cooldown — the whole month is expected to run warmer than average.

At the same time, August could deepen the drought already affecting the country: rainfall is expected to be below normal, which, combined with the heat, will worsen the moisture shortage. That said, hot weather is usually accompanied by convective activity — downpours and thunderstorms — so rainfall distribution could vary significantly by region. The CFS and Canadian CanSIPS models also confirm that August in Central Europe will be warmer than usual. According to Novotný, this August in Czechia is very likely to turn out both warmer and drier than typical for this time of year.

Around Prague, based on reporting by denik.cz