Rare weather phenomenon over Berlin - pictures like from apocalypse film

What is rolling towards us? Some Berliners may have wondered that when he discovered the rare phenomenon in the sky on Saturday.

• Storms hit Germany on Saturday, the German Weather Service (DWD) had previously warned.
• The capital Berlin was also affected by the weather conditions *.
• There was a rare cloud phenomenon to be observed. 

Berlin - Do you still know the legendary scenes from the film  Independence Day ? Exactly, the science fiction shocker by Roland Emmerich from 1996. Dozens of alien spaceships detach themselves from the mother ship and float as huge saucers over the metropolises of the world. They cast gigantic shadows on the big cities. A threatening atmosphere - and in fact the aliens did not come to know each other peacefully. 

Weather phenomenon over Berlin: Photos and recordings appear on the net after severe weather

Some people in Berlin felt reminded of this scene on Saturday - and a little scared. "If there isn't a spaceship in it," a Twitter user commented on the recordings, which were posted by a weather station in Berlin-Dahlem. A massive cloud had positioned itself over the capital. 

Spectacular recordings from Friedrichshain: A so-called #Rollcloud has formed in the run-up to the thunderstorm.
Source: Christian Lüder via @Skywarn_DE #Gewitter #Berlin / GP pic.twitter.com/3vfm1GBM2i

The scenery looks even darker on other photos that appeared on the net. Here the extreme cloud rolls towards Kreuzburg: 

This #rollcloud this afternoon in #Berlin was quite impressive. Here it moves with #Unwetter towards #Kreuzberg. pic.twitter.com/J1T39LfLfJ

Or here too: 

Sky over Berlin #Witter #Unwetter pic.twitter.com/pNTR174L6L

And especially in this short clip, the cloud roller is impressive to see:

Gust roller over Berlin at 5pm @Kachelmannwettr #Gewitter #Berlin pic.twitter.com/8BPSsVNQsr

Severe weather over Berlin: This is really behind the cloud phenomenon

Well, but what's behind this phenomenon? It is a so-called roll cloud (“ roll cloud ”). A cloud in the form of a gust roller that can occur in thunderstorm weather. For observers, like here in Berlin, it actually looks as if the cloud is rolling towards it and rotating around a horizontal axis. This type of cloud is very rare with us, you can admire it more regularly as the famous Morning Glory Cloud on the North Australian Gulf of Carpentaria. 

Video: Rare weather phenomenon "Rollcloud"

The world has not gone down in Berlin. The capital fire brigade reports only one flooded basement and a few fallen trees after the storm *. In addition, a lightning strike led to restrictions on the S-Bahn. Fortunately, everything is very harmless. In retrospect, it is all the more fun to watch the fascinating recordings. 

In contrast, the storm in Bavaria hit a little more violently. In Grainau, Upper Bavaria, 200 people had to be evacuated.

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* Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network