Germany is looking forward to the European Championship round of 16 match against Denmark. But “The Weather Channel” meteorologist Jan Schenk issues an urgent warning: “I have never seen such strong thunderstorm markers in Germany.” You can read all about the current situation in the weather ticker.

10.34 a.m.: The French ARMOME model, which is not exactly known for exaggeration, is expecting a supercell in Germany as early as Saturday afternoon. This cell is moving roughly from the Moselle towards Franconia or Thuringia.

The explosive thing is that the potential risk of tornadoes is also very high in this area. This means that if there is a thunderstorm, it will be extremely strong. Please pay attention to the weather warnings, the forecasts can and will change.

8:30 a.m.: The German national football team will play its European Championship round of 16 match in Dortmund on Saturday evening, but it won’t be a party everywhere. Extreme thunderstorms are moving in from the southwest. There is a risk of death. Dortmund itself will most likely not be affected during the game, but Saarland, Rhineland-Palatinate, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and parts of North Rhine-Westphalia will be.

“The thunderstorm numbers are as large as those of tropical thunderstorms. But in our latitudes there are also heavy winds that make everything even worse,” explains meteorologist Jan Schenk from “The Weather Channel.”

“It is no longer a question of whether there will be supercells, but only how many there will be,” said Schenk. And the risk of tornadoes is also greatly increased. The tropical air mass will heat up to 34 degrees in the afternoon, which will cause the strongest thunderstorms we have ever seen in Germany.

There is a risk of hail, hurricane-force winds, extremely heavy rain, flooding, tornadoes and serious damage to houses and infrastructure. “Please stay at home on Saturday evening. There is a risk of death if a thunderstorm approaches! I have never seen such strong thunderstorm markers in Germany,” explains the meteorologist.

High pressure is actually suppressing thunderstorms on Saturday, explains Schenk. But the thunderstorms “simply blow the lid off.” And he continues: “The potential thunderstorm energy (CAPE) reaches values ​​of 4000 J/kg, values ​​that we don’t have in Germany.” The reason is the tropical air mass that will spread quickly from the southwest on Saturday and will also be enriched with extremely high levels of moisture. 100 liters of rain per square meter could fall in a short space of time, says meteorologist Schenk.

08.10 a.m.: Heavy storms led to fire service operations and traffic disruptions in parts of Germany on Thursday. Thunderstorms are also threatening in some federal states on Friday:

Baden-Wurttemberg

Until Friday evening there will be local thunderstorms with heavy rain of up to 25 l/m² in one hour, small hail and gusts of up to 70 km/h. In very isolated cases, severe weather with heavy rain of around 30 l/m² in one hour is also possible.

Bayern

Thunderstorms again on Friday, with the exception of Lower Franconia. Heavy rain (amounts of around 25 l/m² in 1 hour), hail and gusts of 60 km/h. Particularly in the afternoon and evening, severe weather with heavy rain amounts of up to 40 l/m² in a short space of time, hail with grain sizes of around 2 cm and gusts of 75 km/h cannot be ruled out. Thunderstorms will die down quickly early on Saturday night.

Brandenburg and Berlin

During the course of the day, moving eastwards with slight intensification. From midday onwards, particularly in eastern and southern Brandenburg, thunderstorms with gusts of around 70 km/h, heavy rain of around 20 l/m² and small hail.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

Today, with the passage of a cold front, there will be short thunderstorms. During the course of the day, the storms will move eastwards, gaining strength slightly. From midday, particularly in East Mecklenburg and Western Pomerania, there will be thunderstorms with gusts of wind of around 70 km/h, heavy rain of around 20 l/m² and small hail, moving towards Poland in the late afternoon.

Saxony-Anhalt

Today, especially at midday and in the early afternoon, isolated strong thunderstorms east of the Elbe and Saale. Heavy rain of around 20 l/m² within a short period of time, small hail and gusts of wind of around 70 km/h, moving eastwards in the afternoon.

Saxony:

Thunderstorms will be moving from west to east today from midday to evening. Heavy rain of around 20 l/m² within a short period of time, small hail and gusts of wind of around 70 km/h. Locally – especially in the mountains and in Upper Lusatia – there will also be severe weather with heavy rain of around 30 l/m² within 1 hour and locally larger hail of around 2 cm as well as heavy gusts of wind of up to 100 km/h.

Thuringia:

Today, especially at midday and in the early afternoon, there will be isolated strong thunderstorms in central and eastern Thuringia. Heavy rain of around 20 l/m² within a short period of time, small hail and gusts of wind of around 70 km/h, moving eastwards in the afternoon.

Friday, June 28, 2024, 6:32 a.m.: The train route between Hamburg and Bremen is once again open at slow speeds after being closed due to the effects of severe weather. Traffic started up again in the early hours of the morning from Thursday to Friday, a railway spokeswoman said.

On Thursday, heavy thunderstorms near Tostedt (Harburg district) caused the tracks to be washed away. The line is now open again, but only at low speeds, said the spokeswoman. This resulted in delays of around 15 minutes. It remains unclear when normal operations will resume.

11:28 p.m.: A lightning strike is said to have started a fire in a barn in Weismain in the Lichtenfels district. There were still around 50 cattle in an adjacent barn when the fire broke out on Thursday. According to police, many of the animals were injured, but most were gradually rescued from the barn. Two cattle, however, had to be killed on the orders of an official veterinarian.

A witness reported the fire on Thursday afternoon via emergency call. Both the barn and the stable burned out completely, but the fire brigade was able to prevent the flames from spreading to a residential building. Several people were slightly injured: a member of the fire brigade was kicked by a cow, and a resident, a veterinarian and a firefighter suffered minor smoke inhalation.

Extinguishing the fire took several hours and more than 250 firefighters were deployed. The damage is estimated at around 500,000 euros.

11:07 p.m.: After lightning struck a supermarket in Dresden, two injured employees were taken to hospital. The woman and the man, both 50 years old, complained of headaches, malaise and nausea, the fire department announced on Thursday evening. Both were given emergency medical treatment and then taken to a hospital by ambulance.

The lightning strike had apparently caused a defect in a refrigeration system for baked goods, it was said. In addition, a chemical smell spread throughout the supermarket. The cause of this was unclear. A large contingent of 80 emergency personnel from the volunteer fire brigade and professional fire brigade were alerted. When the first emergency personnel reached the supermarket in Klotzsche, the store had already been evacuated.

A heavy thunderstorm with heavy rain swept over Dresden on Thursday. It also flooded streets and brought down trees, it was reported. The districts of Klotzsche, Hellerau, Wilschdorf and Löbtau were particularly affected. The fire brigade is working tirelessly with numerous emergency personnel to clear the dangerous areas. In one case, water and mud penetrated a residential building.

You can read more about the current weather conditions here.