According to data from electricity distribution system operator (DSO) Elektrilevi, Friday's outages mainly hit Southern Estonia.

The Transport Administration's interactive map at tarktee.ee shows that fallen trees have been reported on roads in several places across the region.

"As expected, severe thunderstorms, hail and strong winds caused significant outages," said Elektrilevi CEO Mihkel Härm, adding that crews worked through the night to restore power.

Härm said that outages peaked at around 15,000 customers Friday evening, dropping to about 4,000 by Saturday morning. He warned that more severe weather is expected Saturday, so additional outages are likely.

"Since the ground is very soft and wet, in some parts of Southern Estonia, trees have been uprooted entirely and damaged the lines," he explained, adding that while lightning strikes have caused some equipment failures, the primary culprit behind power outages remains downed trees.

Härm said Elektrilevi crews are standing by to handle outages on Saturday.

"People need to remember that as long as it's still thunderstorming outside, no work can be done on the power grid — it's simply too dangerous for the electricians," he emphasized.

The DSO chief estimates that power should be restored to all customers affected by Friday's outages sometime Saturday.

"Of course, for regular folks, that may not be of much help if yesterday's outage is fixed but the power goes out again today," he admitted.

Valga County was hardest hit by power outages on Friday, and had the highest number of customers still without power on Saturday morning. Elektrilevi sent extra crews to the area.

Härm added that crews were on standby in Harju County already as well, where severe weather was expected on Saturday.

When large trees fall on power lines, they essentially have to be replaced to restore power.

"The utility poles will likely have to be replaced, as they didn't come out of the ground intact; they broke," Härm explained. "New poles are brought in, new holes are drilled and the power lines attached."

When the power goes out due to such extensive damage, restoring power can take up to a day or even longer.

Roof damage, large hail reported

On Friday evening, a car crashed after striking a downed tree in the road in the Viljandi County village of Parika. Heavy rain and poor visibility were reported at the time.

In the border city of Valga, storms toppled several trees, some of which fell onto houses, writes Lõuna-Eesti Postimees (link in Estonian).

One tree landed on power lines, causing a power outage in the area, and part of the sheet metal roof was blown off the former movie theater building on Kuperjanovi tänav.

Dangerously large hail was also reported in Valga and Võru counties.

According to Leho Lemsalu, an official at the Rescue Board's Safety Oversight Department, rescue crews responded to nearly 90 calls on Friday, most of them in Southern Estonia and involving downed trees.

"There were only a handful of incidents in other regions," Lemsalu said.

"Fortunately, despite all the lightning, no major structural fires were reported," he continued. "There were also a few cases of structural damage, with roofs either partially or fully blown off. But most of it was related to [downed] trees."

With more storms in the forecast over the next several days, the Rescue Board is urging the public to follow general safety advice: stay indoors and away from trees, secure loose objects that could blow away and be prepared for possible power outages.

Click here for more severe weather advice meteorologist Kairo Kiitsak shared with ERR on Friday.

Level 1 storm warnings issued

The Estonian Weather Service (EWS) has issued Level 1 — or yellow — weather warnings for the northern half of the country on Saturday, indicating potentially dangerous weather.

Thunderstorm, wind and heavy rainfall warnings have been issued for Harju, Hiiu, Ida-Viru, Jõgeva, Järva, Lääne, Lääne-Viru and Rapla counties due to possible locally heavy rain, thunderstorms, wind gusting over 15 m/s and even hail.

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