Croatia weather warning, 17 August: storms and hail

Update, 15:00: wind warnings added, Dubrovnik no longer green

The picture has moved since this morning. The orange thunderstorm warning still covers only the Rijeka region, but a second layer has come in on top of it: yellow wind warnings now run along the whole Adriatic, and the Dubrovnik region, green at breakfast, carries a yellow thunderstorm warning this afternoon. Heat warnings have also returned in six regions, so the phrase from this morning needs qualifying: the extreme phase of the heatwave is over, ordinary summer heat is not.

Roads at 15:00

• An accident between the Škurinje II tunnel and the Rujevica junction towards Rupa has traffic down to 70 km/h. That is the Rijeka bypass, the road most travellers from Slovenia and Italy use.
• Two kilometres of queue on the exit ramp at the Učka junction towards Opatija and Istria, one kilometre at Matulji towards Rijeka.
• A1: queues and short stops between Karlovac and Bosiljevo 1 towards the coast, and from Ogulin via Bosiljevo to Karlovac inland.
• Both suspended sea lines are still suspended: catamaran 323 through Kvarner for weather, line 54 Dubrovnik to Bari for the technical fault.

The wind warnings are the part that changes plans. A yellow wind warning over the Velebit channel, Kvarner and both halves of Dalmatia at once usually means the afternoon and evening bring gusts on exposed crossings, and that is where open-deck ferries and small boats feel it first. If you have a crossing booked for this evening, check the operator's status page rather than the timetable.

Croatia's meteorological and hydrological service, DHMZ, has placed the Rijeka region under an orange weather warning for Monday 17 August 2026, with most of the rest of the country on yellow. A front is moving in from the northwest, and the practical effect on the coast is that a calm, hot morning is likely to end in a loud evening.

What the warning says

The heatwave is over

As recently as 10 August, red heat warnings were in force for the Rijeka, Split and Dubrovnik regions, with highs forecast at 33 to 38 degrees. Monday tops out around 30 degrees nationally and up to 34 in the far east. Morning lows were 13 to 18 degrees inland and 20 to 24 on the coast. Wind inland is a moderate northerly to northwesterly, stronger in unstable periods; on the coast it starts as a light to moderate southerly and veers southwest around midday.

Ferries and roads right now

• Catamaran line 323 (Kraljevica, Crikvenica, Senj, Baška, Lopar, Rab, Lun) is suspended because of the weather, as of 07:50 on 17 August.
• International line 54, Dubrovnik to Bari, remains out of service after a technical fault that started on 16 August.
• A1: heavier traffic before the Lučko toll plaza towards the coast, denser as far as Bosiljevo.
• A2: about one kilometre of queue at the Trakošćan toll plaza towards Zagreb, about four kilometres at the Zagreb jug interchange.

Sea temperatures are unaffected

What to change today

If you have a boat trip, a sea kayak tour, an open-deck crossing or a campsite booking on the northern Adriatic, call the operator before mid-afternoon instead of turning up. Storms in Kvarner build fast in the late afternoon, and the orange level exists precisely because gusts and lightning arrive with little warning. For drivers the evening is the awkward window: gusts of 85 km/h are enough to move a caravan or a roof box on bridge approaches and exposed coastal sections. For anything urgent, 112 is the single emergency number and is answered in several languages; roadside assistance is 1987.

The fires have not gone away

Rain is welcome after a hard fortnight, but a storm front brings lightning as well as water. Over the weekend crews were still working on fires near Lokve Rogoznice and Omiš, on Dugi otok, near Kune Pelješka and at Jovići in Zadar County. Around a hundred firefighters were deployed to the Dugi otok fire near Brbinj. The national fire association reported on 12 August that vegetation fires this season are running above 2025 levels, and four people were detained in the Benkovac area on 16 August in an investigation into suspected fire-starting. No specific fire has been publicly linked to them.

What to do tonight

• Bring in loose furniture, parasols and awnings on terraces and campsite pitches before dusk, not after the first gust.
• Do not shelter under isolated trees or on exposed headlands. The southern capes and the cliff edges are the worst place to be in a thunderstorm.
• If you are anchored, move to a protected mooring before dark. Catamarans are lighter than car ferries and are usually the first services cancelled in strong wind.
• Treat any open flame as off limits until the wind drops, barbecues included. Restrictions for high-sided vehicles and speed limits in strong wind are common on the coastal motorways, so check the road status rather than assuming your arrival time holds.