After Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate has now also been hit by a severe storm. Extreme heavy rain on Sunday led to flooding and landslides. Read everything important in the weather ticker.
8.21 a.m.: Heavy rain with 15 liters per square meter is possible in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate in a short period of time on Monday, the DWD announced in the morning. Storm-like quantities of over 25 liters per square meter are therefore unlikely. “It will be interesting on Tuesday,” said meteorologist Markus Böse from the DWD on Sunday in Offenbach. Then some heavy rains developed again, “which from today’s perspective mainly affect the southwest of the country”.
Although the calculated amounts of rain are not as high as last Friday, most of the rain falls within six to twelve hours, said Böse. If the Saarland and the Palatinate are again the focus of rainfall, rising water levels and possibly floods and floods must be expected there again.
7.40 a.m.: According to the local fire department, a thunderstorm cell formed on Pentecost Sunday at the Pentecost tent camp of the Soest district fire department youth in Soest-Ruploh. Lightning then struck the area twice. Since there were people in the vicinity of the lightning strikes and the number of those affected was increasing rapidly, a large contingent of rescue workers, including an emergency doctor, was immediately alerted to the event site.
A total of 38 people were injured and transported to surrounding hospitals for further observation. Those affected were slightly injured, the fire department said in a statement.
A total of around 200 emergency services from the fire department, German Red Cross, DLRG and Maltese relief service as well as the rescue service were on site. The camp participants were immediately evacuated to safe buildings on the camp site.
Monday, May 20th, 1:16 a.m.: Children playing discovered an explosive grenade from the Second World War on a stream in Völklingen in Saarland. The grenade was probably washed free due to the flood and was found early on Saturday evening, the police said on Sunday evening. The police explosive ordnance disposal service removed the projectile. There was therefore no danger for residents.
11:28 p.m.: In the flood situation in Rhineland-Palatinate, there was a major operation by the fire brigade and technical relief agency in Auw an der Kyll in the southern Eifel on Sunday evening. The cellars in several houses were full, said a police spokesman in Trier. “So far the situation is relatively relaxed. According to current information, there are no injuries.” Around 130 emergency services are currently on site. The water level of the Kyll – a tributary of the Moselle – is quite high, which is why the floods occurred.
10:04 p.m.: Extreme heavy rain led to flooding and landslides in the Rhineland-Palatinate town of Kirn on Sunday afternoon. The Sulzbach district was most affected, said a police spokesman. According to this, numerous cellars and ground floors were full of water and mud, and some of the district was no longer passable. A landslide also blocked federal highway 41, and the road was then closed. It was initially unclear when it could be released again. According to the police spokesman, no one was injured.
The German Weather Service (DWD) warned of storms in Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland on Sunday. A warning for extreme thunderstorms of the highest level four was in effect in both federal states in the evening. There was therefore a great danger to life and limb from, among other things, lightning strikes, falling trees, high-voltage lines and scaffolding as well as widespread covered roofs and flying objects.
9.33 p.m.: A woman in Saarbrücken was injured during a rescue operation due to flooding in Saarland and later died as a result. The 67-year-old died on Sunday evening, the city announced.
3:54 p.m.: The German Weather Service warns of thunderstorms in large parts of western and northern Germany. In large parts of the country the alert level is orange, and in the Kleve district the alert level is red.
In Berlin, for example, the police warn of strong thunderstorms. The traditional Carnival of Cultures takes place there today. “Take good care of yourself,” warns the police.
9:31 a.m.: Persistent rain caused several fire brigade operations in the Bonn area. The town hall was also affected on Saturday, the fire department announced on Sunday. Rainwater entered the administration building in the center of Bonn, which the emergency services removed. The fire brigade also pumped water from an underpass that had become impassable and also from a blocked underground car park.
In nearby Königswinter, the Rhine overflowed its banks at a ferry pier. Several fairground showmen had to dismantle or relocate their rides at the beach festival in Mondorf – also near Bonn – on Saturday. There, too, waves splashed over the edge of the bank.
7.43 a.m.: As the German Weather Service warns in advance, there will also be strong thunderstorms in Germany on Whit Sunday. The meteorologists write that the storm band extends from North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate across Lower Saxony, Hesse to Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. There is also heavy rain.
The DWD writes: “From late morning onwards, showers and thunderstorms will form in some areas. Local heavy rain with 15-25 liters per square meter in one hour is likely, isolated and narrowly limited. Danger of severe weather due to heavy rain of up to 40 liters per square meter in a short period of time cannot be ruled out. Wind gusts of around 65 km/h (Bft 7-8) and small-grain hail are also possible. Thunderstorm activity decreasing in the evening.”
Strong thunderstorms are also possible over southern Bavaria from midday onwards. According to the DWD experts, there is heavy rain locally with more than 25 liters per square meter in a short period of time. There could also be larger hail and squalls near the Alps. Here too, the thunderstorms will subside on Monday night.
7:21 a.m.: The Saarland state capital Saarbrücken lifted the major damage situation after the severe floods on the night of Whit Sunday. In numerous Saarland communities, water levels are falling and the situation is improving, the police said. The focus is currently on the town of Blieskastel. The inner and old town there continues to be flooded. However, the level of the Blies River has also been falling since midnight.
Sunday, May 19, 4:20 a.m.: The development of the flood continues to keep rescue workers and the population in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate busy. The immense damage is only slowly becoming visible. “The flood situation is still serious, but the situation is clearly easing in many areas,” said the Saarland Interior Ministry on Saturday. For the most part, the water is slowly receding. During the night into Sunday, the situation was initially unchanged.
“It is simply too early for both clean-up work and assessments of the damage,” said a spokeswoman for the Trier-Saarburg district of the German Press Agency. Drones have now been requested to get an overview of the extent of the damage from above.
10:26 p.m.: Thunderstorms will appear from the southwest on Saturday evening. The southwest of Bavaria and parts of Baden-Württemberg are particularly affected. There may be squalls, heavy rain and hail. On the edge of the Alps there can even be heavy rain with precipitation amounts of around 30 l/m² per hour as well as squalls with speeds of up to 85 km/h and hail with a grain size of around 3 cm. The Traunstein and Rosenheim districts are particularly affected.
The German Weather Service (DWD) is warning of severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail in six districts of Bavaria on Saturday evening. The following districts are affected:
9.55 p.m.: The Saarland state capital Saarbrücken, as the lower disaster control authority, has lifted the major damage situation after the severe floods. The acute rescue and safety measures have been completed and the water levels continue to decline, the city’s press office announced on Saturday evening.
Accordingly, the focus is currently on clean-up work. According to the information, the emergency services, authorities and municipal departments will continue their work over the next few days to deal with the damage caused by the flood. Restrictions must also be expected in the affected areas in the coming days and weeks.
Enormous amounts of rain caused flooding, landslides and, presumably, major damage in Saarland on Friday and overnight into Saturday.
1:15 p.m.: Germany is currently divided in two when it comes to the weather: While there is a risk of forest fires in large parts of eastern Germany, more than 100 liters of rain in 24 hours has triggered a state of emergency in Saarland. “The amount of rain we are seeing, particularly in the southwest, is already well above normal,” says Andreas Walter from the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach. In the east, on the other hand, high evaporation is also being observed due to the heat, and there is a high risk of forest fires in some areas. “This is also actually relatively early for the time of year.”
Temperatures of 23 to 25 degrees in the east – that’s normal to slightly too warm in comparison, says the meteorologist. “This weather situation is actually more like summer.” What is also special is that there is hardly any dynamism. “It’s all shifting very, very slowly.”
1:03 p.m.: After continuous rain and flooding in the southwest, the German Weather Service (DWD) is predicting less rain in the region over Pentecost. “The southwest can breathe a sigh of relief in that the long-lasting and heavy rainfall is gradually easing,” explained meteorologist Tanja Egerer from the DWD in Offenbach on Saturday.
11.50 a.m.: Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in the flood area on Saturday morning. He speaks to the press together with Prime Minister Anke Rehlinger. “We see here what violence nature has, what destruction it can cause,” said Scholz. “It is a sign of cooperation that we can see here.”
This is where his short statement ends. Scholz and Rehlinger will now look on site to see what the flood has caused.
10:03 a.m.: The Prime Minister of Saarland, Anke Rehlinger (SPD), commented on the severe flood situation this morning. She told Saarländischer Rundfunk that the water levels would continue to rise and there was a risk of further flooding. The situation is “very tense”.
The current water levels in the six places where the Saarland flood warning service has recorded the highest warning level:
7:28 a.m.: After the extreme, continuous rain with flooding in Saarland, the situation had eased somewhat from the police’s point of view by early Saturday morning. The water levels have at least not risen since 1 a.m., said a spokesman for the situation center in Saarbrücken. However, the rescue workers are still on a large scale. The exact extent of the damage can only be properly assessed in daylight.
According to current knowledge, no people were killed in the severe storm with hours of rainfall and widespread flooding. One person was injured during an evacuation operation, said the spokesman for the situation center. A person fell into the water and was then taken to a hospital.
7:07 a.m.: The German Weather Service has lifted the severe weather warning across Germany. However, there is still an acute risk of flooding in Saarland. The Saarland Ministry of the Environment reports the highest flood level in five places.
The highest level violet applies in Niedaltdorf, Fremersdorf, Überherrn, Geislautern, Lebach and Ottweiler. The second highest level, red, also applies in six other places. You can find the current map with the flood values here.
You can read more about the current weather situation on the next pages.