Thunderstorm front kept fire brigades busy with dozens of operations in the state of Salzburg on Tuesday

The front also left its mark around midday in Hallein in the Tennengau district. Several trees toppled on the Treppelweg. The city of Hallein informed: "Der Wirtschaftshof hat die betroffenen Bereiche bereits gesichtet und ist mit den Entfernungsarbeiten beschäftigt". Storm-related operations also took place in Hallein and in the city of Salzburg, where toppled trees likewise had to be cleared.

Closure on the Tauern Autobahn

On the Tauern Autobahn, five tunnels between Golling and Werfen were closed in both directions due to a power outage. According to the information provided, the traffic jam in the direction of Salzburg was two kilometers long, and five kilometers in the direction of Villach. An Asfinag spokesperson was unable to confirm to APA that a lightning strike was the cause of the power outage between 13:30 and 14:00, as media had reported.

In Steinbach and Unterach, toppled trees had to be cleared from roads. In the Flachgau, Pongau, Pinzgau, and Lungau districts, additional operations to clear storm damage were running in parallel.

Thunderstorm moves further east

In the afternoon, the front system moved further east: the highest warning level, violet, was declared in some regions of Styria. The ORF weather service reported: "Das heftige Gewitter, das im Raum Wiener Neustadt schon Hagel gebracht hat, zieht jetzt in Richtung Nordosten in den Bereich von Wien über den Bezirk Bruck an der Leitha bis in das Nordburgenland."

For Vienna, the red warning level was issued by uwz.at for parts of the 23rd district and the southern Speckgürtel, with storms, heavy rain, and possible hail. The weather portal Kachelmannwetter warned on X: "ACHTUNG: HAGELUNWETTER mit Sturm, großem Hagel und enormen Wassermassen wüten in der Schneebergregion und ziehen nach Wiener Neustadt! Hagel von 4 bis 5 cm ist durchaus dabei!" Cloudburst-like rain as well as mudslide and flooding danger were also possible.

The ORF weather service added: "In diesen Regionen kann es in den nächsten halben Stunde bis Stunde stellenweise wolkenbruchartig schütten. Es besteht Muren- und Überflutungsgefahr. Auch gefährliche Sturmböen und Hagel sind möglich." According to UBIMET, 34 liters of rain per square meter fell in Pörtschach within a short time; according to reports, gusts reached up to 100 km/h.

In Puchberg, a resident reported severe hail damage on Facebook: "Mein ganzer Garten ist zerstört. Wassermenge auf der Terrasse bis zur Wohnzimmer Türe. Ich bin verzweifelt, die ganze Arbeit in fünf Minuten zerstört."

Forest fire caused by lightning strike in Tyrol

Parallel to the thunderstorm situation in Salzburg, Tyrol was dealing with a forest fire above Wildermieming in the Innsbruck-Land district. A lightning strike presumably triggered a forest fire on Tuesday at midday above Wildermieming in Tyrol (Innsbruck-Land district). The firefighting efforts were initially carried out exclusively from the air; both a helicopter from the Tyrol police and one from Vorarlberg were on site. Due to the difficult terrain, several helicopters were requested. Two Austrian Armed Forces helicopters also arrived in the afternoon, Mayor Matthias Fink told APA.

Several thousand square meters of forest area were likely affected, it was said. A dense column of smoke spread in the area of the so-called "Grießlehn". The exact extent of the fire was initially unclear, and the precise cause of the blaze was under investigation.