Germany cannot calm down. There is also a threat of thunderstorms and heavy rain in the new week. Read everything important in the weather ticker.
Saturday, May 25th, 3:19 p.m.: Showers and thunderstorms are likely to dominate the weather in some parts of Germany in the coming days. The influence of low pressure is expected to last until the middle of the week, explained meteorologist Jacqueline Kernn from the German Weather Service (DWD) on Saturday in Offenbach. “Due to the high moisture content of the air and the low speed of the thunderstorms, a lot of rain can fall in a short period of time.”
There is a local risk of flooding, full basements and underpasses. “It is also possible for the thunderstorms to grow into larger areas of precipitation,” said Kernn. Then smaller streams and rivers could also swell and overflow their banks.
Sunday changeable, Monday cloudy
For Sunday, meteorologists expect a change of longer sunny periods and increasing cumulus clouds. Especially in the north and east, showers and sometimes strong thunderstorms with heavy rain can be expected from midday onwards. The maximum temperatures reach 20 to 25 degrees.
Monday is likely to be cloudy, but there may be heavy showers and thunderstorms again from central Germany towards the east. In the west, however, it will remain mostly dry, with short showers and isolated thunderstorms only possible in the afternoon. The maximum values reach 19 degrees in the Eifel and 27 degrees in Brandenburg.
The eastern half of Germany is also expected to receive heavy showers and thunderstorms on Tuesday – and there could also be heavy rain. In the western half it is likely to remain largely dry with highs of up to 22 degrees and in the east up to 25 degrees.
During thunderstorms, seek shelter indoors or in your car
During thunderstorms, there is always a risk of lightning strikes, warned Kernn. “It is best to go indoors when a thunderstorm is approaching. Even in a car you are safe from a lightning strike.”
In principle, you have to expect squalls, especially in severe thunderstorms, but the danger is currently low due to low differences in air pressure. Since thunderstorms are difficult to predict accurately, it is advisable to monitor the weather and warning situation.
8:04 p.m.: The German Weather Service is warning of severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail in the Bavarian districts of Günzburg, Unterallgäu and Augburg, as well as in the city of Augsburg and Memmingen, until 9 p.m. “Local thunderstorms are approaching from the southwest. There will be heavy rain with rainfall amounts of up to 40 l/m² in a short period of time as well as squalls and hail,” said the DWD.
The DWD is also warning of strong thunderstorms in northern Germany, around Hamburg and Bremen.
9:53 a.m.: Storm-like thunderstorms with heavy rain, hail and squalls will hit Germany again on Friday. Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia are affected in the morning. As the “German Weather Service” warns, showers will initially come down here with around 20 liters of rain per square meter.
For North Rhine-Westphalia, the DWD makes further gradations. Heavy rain lasting several hours with up to 35 liters of rain is possible locally here. Storms with heavy rain could occur around midday. There is a small chance of heavy rain falling very quickly of up to 60 liters per square meter.
Around midday, these thunderstorms move towards the “northern center” of Germany. Here, heavy rain can cause up to 25 liters per square meter to fall in a short period of time. There is also hail and gusts of up to 80 km/h.
In the afternoon, the storms will move towards the south and southwest. Here, too, thunderstorms will cause 15 to 25 litres of rain per square metre to fall in a short space of time.
Friday, May 24th, 9:16 a.m.: After some heavy rain, some streets in the southwest were flooded. The police headquarters in Karlsruhe and Aalen in particular reported temporary flooding on Friday morning. According to a police spokesman, a woman got stuck in the water in her car near Gschwend (Ostalbkreis) and had to be freed by the fire department.
The German Weather Service (DWD) announced individual thunderstorms with heavy rain between 15 and 25 liters per square meter for Friday. There will also be hail and gusts of wind at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour. The sun is expected to appear on Saturday, but showers and thunderstorms as well as locally heavy rain may occur again.
According to meteorologists, Sunday promises mostly friendly and dry weather. Individual showers and short thunderstorms are possible in the mountains.
4.54 p.m.: Severe thunderstorms came from the edge of the Alps over southern Bavaria on Thursday afternoon and caused occasional damage. A spokesman for the Integrated Control Center Oberland initially spoke in the afternoon of around ten missions, especially in the region around Bad Tölz. “Mainly cellars were full and streets were flooded,” said the spokesman. However, no major operations or injuries were reported until later in the afternoon.
The German Weather Service issued a severe weather warning for severe thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail in the region south of Munich in the afternoon. Up to 40 liters of precipitation per square meter is possible within a short period of time, and there can be gusts of around 70 kilometers per hour.
From northern Swabia to Berchtesgadener Land, meteorologists also warned of strong thunderstorms with heavy rain of up to 25 liters per square meter within a short period of time. According to the DWD, there was also a risk of thunderstorms in western Central Franconia until Friday morning.
For Friday, meteorologists expected a mix of clouds and rain with similar temperatures to the previous day. In addition, according to weather experts, thunderstorms could occur again.
Thursday, May 23, 2024, 6:45 a.m.: The German Weather Service is also warning of severe storms with thunderstorms and extremely heavy rain for Thursday. According to advance warnings, the south of Germany in around 70 districts is particularly affected. What is special is that the storms are not occurring at the same time, but are hitting different regions from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. This is the storm schedule:
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Showers and sometimes severe thunderstorms occur repeatedly, especially in the Black Forest area, which are accompanied by heavy rain in places of up to 40 l/sqm per hour. Amounts of between 30 and 50 l/sqm are expected in some areas over several hours. Other side effects of the thunderstorms include wind gusts or stormy gusts of up to 70 km/h as well as small-grain hail. These circles are particularly affected:
12 noon to 8 p.m.: Shower-like rain, sometimes accompanied by thunderstorms, will move northwestward from the edge of the Alps. Heavy rain of between 30 and 60 litres per square metre is likely in some areas in a few hours. However, extremely heavy rain of up to 80 litres per square metre is also possible in some places.
In isolated cases, severe thunderstorms can be accompanied by heavy rain of up to 40 liters per square meter per hour. Additional side effects include wind gusts or stormy gusts of up to 70 km/h as well as small-grain hail.
This time these districts are affected:
5 p.m. to 2 a.m.: The exact same warning applies as before from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. But now for the following circles.
7.50 p.m.: After the severe thunderstorms in the north and east of Germany, the German Weather Service has lifted the severe weather warnings again. The showers and thunderstorms should gradually subside on Thursday night. There may still be heavy rain in some areas and, in some places, storm-like amounts of heavy rain.
4.42 p.m.: The German Weather Service is also issuing a red alert in four regions in Schleswig-Holstein. These districts are affected:
4:26 p.m.: The German Weather Service (DWD) warns of a severe thunderstorm with heavy rain and hail. Some districts in the north and east of Germany are affected. In these nine districts, the DWD warns with a red alert:
Wednesday, May 22nd, 3:00 p.m.: Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland have been spared from further severe storms and renewed flooding. Meanwhile, possible compulsory insurance for natural hazards is being discussed, among other things. After Saarland promised financial help to those affected on Tuesday, work is also underway in Rhineland-Palatinate. The Interior Ministry in Mainz announced on Wednesday that the first thing to do is to record the specific damage. The supervisory authority ADD approached the affected districts and cities on Tuesday.
The heavy rain predicted for parts of Rhineland-Palatinate failed to materialize on Tuesday and Wednesday night. As the state police headquarters in Saarbrücken announced, there were no more storm-related operations on Wednesday night. This time there were similar events in other parts of Germany, especially in the Bavarian Upper Palatinate, where cellars overflowed and streets were flooded on Tuesday evening.
9.13 p.m.: After heavy rain, masses of water in the municipality of Kastl in Upper Palatinate caused cars to cross the streets and trapped people in their houses. No one was injured, said a spokesman for the Amberg Integrated Control Center on Tuesday evening. Those stuck have already been freed. The Lauterach river overflowed its banks in the center of the town.
The cars that were swept away by the floods were washed up on a bridge, the spokesman said. There they ensured that the water accumulated additionally.
8.47 p.m.: The German Weather Service declared a red warning level for parts of Bavaria on Tuesday evening due to heavy rain. The warning is valid until 10 p.m. The following districts are affected:
8:23 p.m.: Heavy rains in Upper Franconia have caused full basements and flooded streets. Bamberg and the surrounding area were particularly affected, said a spokesman for the police in Upper Franconia on Tuesday evening. There were several dozen weather-related operations in the region. There were also some traffic accidents due to the weather, the spokesman said. Nobody was seriously injured. In addition to the main focus in Bamberg, the rains also caused problems in Hof, Coburg and Bayreuth, it was said. The rain is apparently subsiding at the moment, but the situation is not dramatic.
7.46 p.m.: The warning map from the German Weather Service (DWD) shows a belt of thunderstorms across Germany. From the west of North Rhine-Westphalia to the southeast of Bavaria, the DWD is warning of severe thunderstorms until Wednesday night. Small-grain hail and gusts of around 75 km/h are also possible. This can lead to heavy rain with up to 40l/sqm. The DWD warns of possible floods, landslides and full cellars and underpasses. There is also a risk of lightning strikes.
You can read more about the current weather situation on the next pages.
