2023-07-21 11:07:27
weekend weather
Written by Rainer Ackerman
The third heat wave of this summer did not bring any daily records, but rather mild nights. Due to unstable weather, the Balaton swim-through will be moved from Saturday to Sunday.
On Monday and Tuesday morning the mercury column in Budapest did not drop below 24°C – such mild nights had never been recorded in the capital in mid-July. The interventions at the Paks nuclear power plant show just how warm it is in July: Because the Danube, which is needed to cool the reactor blocks, heated up to over 29°C (!), the output had to be repeatedly reduced. For safety reasons, the capacity was already reduced by 560 MW on Wednesday. During the second heat wave a week ago, 240 MW failed as a result of comparable measures. The safety protocol envisages a maximum temperature of the Danube cooling water of 29.5°C, to regulate which 80 MW of reactor power must be reduced for every tenth. According to the current intervention, the experts had to correct by 0.7°C in the interests of technological security.
catamarans locked
Bathers should be pleased that up to 30°C can also be measured locally in Lake Balaton. The southern shore of Lake Balaton is particularly suitable for families with small children because of the extensive shallow water. The water level had risen by 121 cm in June, so much so that the water management experts even had to drain some water through the Sió Canal, and on the other hand, newly built catamarans from the shipyard in Komárom could be channeled to Lake Balaton via the Danube and Sió. The modern ships for use as ferries and excursion boats have meanwhile arrived at the destination of their journey undamaged. After this action and despite the current heat, the water level is still around 108 cm in mid-July. That is still more than the 105 cm that were measured in the drought year 2022 at the beginning of the Balaton season in May.
It’s getting warmer and drier
The 41st Lidl Balaton swim-through will not take place this Saturday despite high summer temperatures. The organizers are worried about the unstable weather: due to sudden storms, several fatalities were reported in Croatia and Slovenia on Wednesday. The major event was initially postponed to Sunday, and a final decision should be made on Friday afternoon.
The cold front from Wednesday will continue to have an effect in the coming days. On Friday in particular it will remain mixed, with some heavy thunderstorms and heavy rain showers. Saturday will already be much friendlier, damp deposits are most likely to be expected in the south and south-east. Sunday promises to be mostly dry. Temperatures are rising a little more day by day and could cumulate at 35°C next Tuesday. Then or on Wednesday the next cold front promises a somewhat more noticeable cooling.
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