Hailstorms cut western swath of damage
Parts of western Germany are busy cleaning up on Saturday after heavy thunderstorms bringing hail caused hefty damage overnight.
Reports from Lower Rhine area indicated two tornadoes had formed, but the Meteomedia Weather Service was unable to confirm that. In Bergisch Gladbach in North Rhine-Westphalia trees toppled like matchsticks over an area covering a quarter of a square kilometre. Hail stones as big as seven centimetres fell in the Lower Saxon towns of Oldenburg and Kürten.
Many regions were busy cleaning up Saturday morning. A police spokesman in one heavily hit area said nearly every residential roof was destroyed and some even caved in. “It looks like it does after a bomb attack,” he said.
There were some severe injuries and at least one death reported from the storms. In Koblenz a 36-year-old woman died on Friday after being hit by a falling branch while she sat in a beer garden. A roofer was severely injured when he fell while cleaning up the after the storm.
Click here for The Local's weather forecast
The hefty rains and hail came after many parts of Germany experienced extremely warm, humid weather. Meteorologists reported the highest temperatures at 36 degrees Celsius in Stuttgart, 35.8 in Munich and 35.4 in Jena in Thüringen.
The German Weather Service (DWD) said the severe storms mark the end of summer temperatures. Forecasts for most of the country center call for unseasonably cool weather. Anyone expecting more than 20 degrees is lucky and lives in the southern part of the country.
DPA/The Local/mw
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Reports from Lower Rhine area indicated two tornadoes had formed, but the Meteomedia Weather Service was unable to confirm that. In Bergisch Gladbach in North Rhine-Westphalia trees toppled like matchsticks over an area covering a quarter of a square kilometre. Hail stones as big as seven centimetres fell in the Lower Saxon towns of Oldenburg and Kürten.
Many regions were busy cleaning up Saturday morning. A police spokesman in one heavily hit area said nearly every residential roof was destroyed and some even caved in. “It looks like it does after a bomb attack,” he said.
There were some severe injuries and at least one death reported from the storms. In Koblenz a 36-year-old woman died on Friday after being hit by a falling branch while she sat in a beer garden. A roofer was severely injured when he fell while cleaning up the after the storm.
Click here for The Local's weather forecast
The hefty rains and hail came after many parts of Germany experienced extremely warm, humid weather. Meteorologists reported the highest temperatures at 36 degrees Celsius in Stuttgart, 35.8 in Munich and 35.4 in Jena in Thüringen.
The German Weather Service (DWD) said the severe storms mark the end of summer temperatures. Forecasts for most of the country center call for unseasonably cool weather. Anyone expecting more than 20 degrees is lucky and lives in the southern part of the country.
DPA/The Local/mw
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