The weather in Germany: After the first thunderstorms, another severe storm threatens on Friday. The German Weather Service has issued an advance warning for large parts of Germany. From Friday noon, a “large-scale and severe storm situation” will move in from the west.
9:45 p.m .: According to the German Weather Service (DWD), large parts of Germany are also likely to experience “extreme storms” with thunderstorms, hail and storms on Friday. According to a meteorologist, the highest warning level (level 4) should be declared in many places.
It is probable that so-called supercells are also formed – rotating systems with strong updrafts that move completely independently and are therefore difficult to predict. There are also “ideal conditions” for tornadoes and violent hurricanes with wind force 12. There was also hail and sometimes extremely heavy rain. Up to 80 liters of rain per square meter could fall within a few hours. Hailstones could reach the size of table tennis balls.
According to the DWD, the storm on Friday primarily affected an imaginary strip from North Rhine-Westphalia and northern Rhineland-Palatinate to Brandenburg and Western Pomerania. According to the information, however, it can only be said with certainty where exactly the thunderstorms will discharge a few hours in advance, and for tornadoes the forecast range is even in the minute range.
According to the definition, an official warning of level 4 can be life-threatening for people. “Avoid spending time outdoors. Be very careful and inform yourself regularly about the development of the weather situation,” advised the DWD. In addition, one should prepare for “extraordinary measures” and in any case follow possible instructions from the authorities.
Severe storms are expected in the Berlin and Brandenburg region on Friday. A thunderstorm will move from the west across the northern center from the afternoon, the German Weather Service announced on Thursday evening. Widespread severe, sometimes extreme thunderstorms with massive effects are expected. Heavy rain with 40 liters per square meter in one hour is possible. Hailstones could be around 5 centimeters in size. Heavy storm or hurricane gusts are expected.
In some cases, extremely heavy rain with around 60 liters in a few hours is likely, it said. “Even individual tornadoes are not excluded.” There is a risk of small-scale flooding, branches and trees could break. According to the forecast, the weather will calm down on Saturday night.
At the weekend the weather calms down again. In the north it remains changeable.
7.55 p.m .: Despite fallen trees and impairments in air and rail traffic, the storm in North Rhine-Westphalia was less violent than predicted. The German Weather Service (DWD) had warned of severe weather developments with heavy rain, heavy gusts of wind and hail. Hurricane-like gusts or even tornadoes were also possible.
The thunderstorm front reached NRW in the afternoon via the southwest near Aachen and then moved across the Rhineland, the Münsterland and the Ruhr area. In many places the sky suddenly darkened. There were local heavy rains, thunder and lightning. Later, the thunderstorm front moved further across South Westphalia in the direction of East Westphalia-Lippe.
For security reasons, Düsseldorf Airport stopped operating for around 30 minutes in the afternoon. An airport spokesman said no machines could have landed or taken off during that time. In addition, the aircraft were not loaded and unloaded during this time. From around 3.45 p.m., operations could run again according to plan, it said.
Half a dozen fallen trees were reported on the Lower Rhine and in Münsterland, and railway lines were blocked. A tree fell on the north-south main line between Düsseldorf and Leverkusen. A part of the route should be released there quickly, said a railway spokesman. The disruption of the S-Bahn line 6 between Düsseldorf and Cologne could take longer.
6.45 p.m .: Due to the warning of heavy rain and gusts of wind, all schools sponsored by the Ahrweiler district will remain closed this Friday. As the local district administration announced on Thursday evening, there are no classes there. The district strongly recommends that the sponsors of the other schools keep them closed as well. Detailed information can therefore be obtained from the respective schools. The district also appealed to all parents of daycare children to refrain from visiting daycare on Friday and to look after the children at home. Only in absolutely urgent cases can the respective facility be contacted and emergency care discussed. “Safety always comes first, so parents should constantly inquire about the current road and weather conditions and then make a careful decision,” the statement said.
6.33 p.m .: A person was seriously injured in a lightning strike on a cargo ship in Duisburg. It was probably an employee on the ship, said a fire department spokesman. He was on the freighter in NRW during the severe storm on Thursday afternoon. The lightning struck the deck and seriously injured the man, the spokesman said. The “Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung” had previously reported on the lightning strike.
5:05 p.m .: Attention Westerwald: The hail wall moves in the direction of Siegen. Thunderstorms reported in Bremen. It starts in Hanover within an hour.
4:58 p.m .: As a result of the storm, fallen trees blocked railway lines on the Lower Rhine and in Münsterland. A tree fell on the north-south main line between Düsseldorf and Leverkusen on Thursday. Hopefully part of the route will soon be able to be released again there, said a railway spokesman in the afternoon on request. The disruption of the S-Bahn line 6 between Düsseldorf and Cologne, on the other hand, could take longer.
“The colleagues are trying to get the routes free again as quickly as possible. Impairments in rush-hour traffic must still be expected,” it said. Storm damage also occurred in the Eifel.
The German Weather Service (DWD) had issued warnings of severe thunderstorms for large parts of North Rhine-Westphalia in the afternoon. According to the DWD, the storm first reached western Münsterland, the Ruhr area and the Rhineland. In many places the sky suddenly darkened in the afternoon: it began to rain, thunder and lightning.
In the afternoon, the DWD issued further warnings of severe thunderstorms in counties in South Westphalia and East Westphalia-Lippe. Accordingly, people would then have to expect hurricane-like gusts, hailstones and heavy rain throughout the state. The Düsseldorf wildlife park and the Dortmund zoo were already closed in the afternoon.
4:55 p.m .: Red alert in the flood area. The German Weather Service also warns of severe thunderstorms with Okran gusts, heavy rain and hail in the districts of Ahrweiler, Euskirchen and in the Rhein-Erft district. In the meantime, the thunderstorm has also arrived at the Ahr, as reported by the FOCUS Online flood reporter. In the meantime it is only raining lightly in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, the thunderstorm is passing.
You can find more information about the weather on the following pages.
