On 1 October 2026, a wind of hurricane force hit Sněžka, the highest Czech mountain, in the Krkonoše. In the morning, the measuring station at the Anežka post office on the summit recorded wind gusts at a speed of over 128 kilometres per hour, while the threshold for a hurricane is set at 117.7 kilometres per hour [3]. According to data from the Poštovna station, the maximum wind gust reached 36 metres per second, that is, roughly 130 kilometres per hour, at five o'clock in the morning [1]. Strong wind had been blowing on Sněžka since the previous Wednesday [1].*

Impact on cable car operation

Because of the strong wind, the upper section of the cable car on Sněžka was closed [1][3]. The lower section of the cable car leading from Pec pod Sněžkou to Růžová hora remained in operation [1][3]. The weather did not restrict the operation of other cable cars in the eastern Krkonoše [2][3].

Temperatures and climate on the summit

In the morning, the wind on Sněžka had a speed of over 100 kilometres per hour, the temperature was around ten degrees Celsius, but because of the wind the perceived temperature dropped to just four degrees Celsius [2][3]. Despite its altitude of 1,603 metres, the climate on the summit of Sněžka is arctic and high-mountain, and it often does not reflect the character of the weather in the Krkonoše as a whole [2][3].

Situation in other areas of Czechia

Strong wind also hit other places in Czechia. Meteorologists measured gusts of around 80 kilometres per hour on Praděd in the Jeseníky and in Svratouch in the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands [1]. The Hejnice station in the Frýdlant Foothills recorded a wind gust at a speed of almost 70 kilometres per hour; meteorologists issued a strong wind warning for this area, which expired at noon on Thursday [1]. According to meteorologists, the wind was to calm further during Thursday, in the following days there was to be almost no wind in many places, and at the same time high temperatures of up to 25 degrees Celsius were to persist [1]. In the Hradec Králové Region, on the day of the event it was clear to partly clear, cloudiness increased from the west in the afternoon, the highest temperatures reached 21 to 24 degrees Celsius, and in the mountains up to 17 degrees Celsius [3].

Related articles: Sněžka

Chronology

  • — Hurricane-force wind of more than 128 kilometres per hour was recorded on Sněžka; operation of the upper section of the cable car was suspended. iROZHLAS Novinky.cz

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Sources

  1. Novinky.cz — 1 October 2026
  2. Deník.cz — 1 October 2026
  3. Hradecká Drbna — 1 October 2026