A powerful storm swept into St. Petersburg on Friday, bringing strong winds and rising waters in the Neva River that triggered weather warnings and forced the closure of parks and museums.

The St. Petersburg Dam reported a water level of 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) around 8 a.m. local time. Flood conditions are officially met when the Neva River rises above 1.6 meters (5.2 feet) within city limits, though the dam managed to prevent that from happening.

“I think most people, seeing the weather around 8 p.m. last night — sunny, calm and 28 degrees Celsius [82.4 degrees Fahrenheit] — didn’t believe what we had forecast,” St. Petersburg’s chief meteorologist Alexander Kolesov wrote on Friday morning. “But reality is now clearly visible outside. A flood would have already occurred if the dam had not been closed.”

“With confidence, we can now say that St. Petersburg has recorded its second July flood in the city’s history,” Kolesov added.