Türkiye’s Black Sea coast remains under unsettled weather as moisture from the sea feeds showers and thunderstorms into the steep terrain of the region, raising concerns over localized flooding and further disruption.
The Turkish State Meteorological Service, Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü (MGM), highlighted locally heavy rainfall across parts of northern and northeastern Türkiye, including Ordu, Rize and Artvin. The August 11 outlook also included Kars and Ardahan among areas where locally strong rainfall was expected.
By Wednesday, August 12, showers and thunderstorms remained in the forecast across the central and eastern Black Sea region. Local reporting based on MGM data continued to highlight Ordu, Rize and Artvin as areas where rainfall could become locally heavy.
The threat is particularly important along the Black Sea coast because of the region’s geography. Moist air arriving from the sea encounters mountains that rise sharply inland, helping force the air upward. When the atmosphere is sufficiently unstable, that combination can enhance convective rainfall and concentrate large amounts of water over relatively small areas.
📆12 Ağustos 2026 Çarşamba
— Meteoroloji (MGM) (@meteoroloji_twi) August 12, 2026
☔Kuvvetli Yağış Uyarısı!
🌡️Hava Sıcaklığı: Genellikle mevsim normalleri civarında, güney kesimlerde mevsim normallerinin biraz üzerinde seyredeceği tahmin ediliyor.
KUVVETLİ YAĞIŞ UYARISI: Yağışların; Samsun ve Ordu çevrelerinde yerel olarak kuvvetli… pic.twitter.com/jT1PzzDn1R
Heavy rain already causes damage in Artvin
The risk is no longer limited to forecasts.
Heavy rain struck Şavşat district in Artvin on Tuesday, with an intense downpour lasting around 30 minutes causing flooding and damage to local infrastructure.
Water, mud and debris covered roads, while sections of pavement and asphalt were damaged. Electricity infrastructure was also affected, according to local reports.
Şavşat Mayor Durmuş Aydın described the episode as the district’s most intense rainfall in around 50 years. No fatalities were reported, while municipal teams began clearing mud and floodwater from affected roads.
🚨 Artvin Şavşat’ta olumsuz hava koşulları!
— Radar Haber (@RadarHaber_) August 12, 2026
İlçede etkili olan şiddetli sağanak yağış nedeniyle caddelerde ve elektrik hatlarında hasar meydana geldi.
pic.twitter.com/dbypuTAnk0
The event illustrates how quickly convective rainfall can create problems in the mountainous eastern Black Sea region. Short-duration downpours can generate rapid runoff from steep slopes, sending water and debris toward valleys, roads and settlements below.
Artvin Şavşat'ta öğle saatlerinde sağanak etkili oldu.
— Halk TV (@halktvcomtr) August 11, 2026
Yağış sonrası yolda su birikintileri oluştu. Selle sürüklenen balçık ve toprak kütleleri yola doldu.
Ekipler, sel sularının dolduğu yolda iş makineleriyle temizlik çalışmaları başlattı. https://t.co/hy5tNVgrfv pic.twitter.com/RfuTI5ltia
Showers and thunderstorms are forecasted to continue
MGM’s Trabzon Regional Forecast and Warning Center expects the coastal parts of the region and Artvin to remain partly to mostly cloudy on Wednesday, with intermittent local showers and thunderstorms.
Rain and thunderstorms are forecast across numerous districts of Artvin, including Şavşat, Hopa, Borçka, Arhavi and Kemalpaşa. Similar conditions are forecast throughout Rize province, including Rize city, Çayeli, Pazar, Ardeşen and the mountainous Çamlıhemşin and İkizdere districts.
MGM’s regional forecast valid from 06:00 Wednesday to 06:00 Thursday currently lists no separate regional meteorological warning for the Trabzon forecast area, an important change from the broader heavy-rain messaging issued earlier. However, intermittent thunderstorms remain forecast, meaning localized downpours are still possible even where a formal warning is no longer active.
Local reporting also indicates that Ordu remains one of the areas being watched for stronger rainfall on Wednesday.
Why is the eastern Black Sea so vulnerable these days?
The eastern Black Sea coast is particularly susceptible to problems during intense rainfall because mountains rise abruptly behind the shoreline.
Moist maritime air can be lifted rapidly as it encounters this terrain. When thunderstorms develop within that moisture-rich environment, rainfall rates can increase sharply over individual valleys and slopes.
The steep topography then allows water to move downhill quickly rather than spreading across broad, flat terrain. Streams can rise rapidly, while saturated or unstable slopes can become vulnerable to mudslides and landslides.
This means rainfall does not necessarily need to persist throughout an entire day to cause disruption. The damage reported in Şavşat followed a particularly intense period lasting only about half an hour.
Localized thunderstorms also make the situation difficult to characterize across an entire province. One district can experience an intense downpour while another nearby receives considerably less rain.
Residents and travelers across the affected Black Sea provinces should therefore continue monitoring the latest MGM forecasts and local warnings, particularly where thunderstorms repeatedly develop over mountainous terrain.
With showers continuing across parts of Rize and Artvin and stronger rainfall possible around Ordu, rapid changes in conditions remain possible along Türkiye’s central and eastern Black Sea belt through Wednesday.
