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Downpour in Düsseldorf: Weather changes at the ICE speed
Photo: Marcel Kusch / dpa
In large parts of Germany, people have to be prepared for sometimes violent thunderstorms on Sunday.
In the afternoon, thunderstorms with heavy rain hit the land from the west, which until late in the evening cover areas to the north of the Main and west of the Elbe.
Precipitation of 25 to 40 liters per square meter is possible in a short time, according to the German Weather Service (DWD).
Extreme storms could also occur locally.
Thunderstorms and heavy rain had caused many fire services in parts of North Rhine-Westphalia on Sunday night.
According to a fire department spokesman, there were 244 weather-related missions in Cologne when the storm front moved over the city.
The number of emergency calls increased suddenly.
Mainly it was about full cellars.
Nobody got hurt.
In the Rhein-Sieg district, the fire brigade was called to 120 operations because cellars were under water or trees had fallen on streets.
In the municipality of Much, lightning had struck a balcony and it caught fire.
Rescue workers extinguished the flames, nobody was injured.
In the Hochsauerlandkreis, too, several trees fell on the streets.
Most of the routes were free again on Sunday morning.
Storms had already caused considerable damage in the Netherlands.
To the west of Utrecht, six houses were so badly damaged on Friday that they can no longer be inhabited for the time being.
Nine people were injured.
In the region of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug National Park, thousands of trees were also bent.
It may have been a tornado, said a spokesman for the authorities.
Investigations by the weather service have not yet been completed.
In parts of Germany, too, there were weather-related traffic obstructions.
Deep "Ulfert" suppresses the heat
The extreme weather will probably continue for some time. At first it remains hot and humid, but for the following days the DWD predicts a little cooling in its forecast. "At the beginning of the coming week, the cold front will cross us from low 'Ulfert' to the east and displace the heat," says the forecast. Even if the greatest danger of storms has been averted, showers and thunderstorms can still be expected.
In the east, meanwhile, the risk of forest fires is increasing day by day in many places.
In the biggest fire in Brandenburg since the beginning of the season, firefighters fought the flames on an area of ten hectares near Bötzow (Oberhavel) northwest of Berlin.
With the exception of three districts, according to the Ministry of the Environment, the highest level of danger across the state was five in Brandenburg on Saturday.
Fires have already broken out in other federal states.
mik / dpa
