Lightning, thunder and tornado danger: risk of severe weather in NRW
Created: 05/19/2022Updated: 05/19/2022, 2:00 p.m
A wind vane shows the wind direction.
© Robert Michael/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Symbolbild
Heavy thunderstorms could follow the sunny days in North Rhine-Westphalia.
People must expect squalls and heavy showers.
According to the weather service, tornadoes are also possible.
Essen - The weather in North Rhine-Westphalia is becoming uncomfortable - and possibly even dangerous.
The German Weather Service (DWD) expects strong storms from Thursday afternoon and especially on Friday, which could occur throughout the state.
People should expect heavy rain showers and hail.
According to the DWD, isolated tornadoes are even possible on Friday.
It is not yet possible to predict whether, where and when the tube-like storms could occur.
"We can only give short-term warnings about a tornado, around five to sixty minutes in advance," says tornado expert Andreas Friedrich from the DWD.
If you see a black wall coming your way, you should quickly seek shelter in windowless interiors or basements.
Last year there were between 40 and 80 tornadoes in Germany.
The city of Cologne asks the population to avoid forest areas, parks, cemeteries and avenues on Thursday afternoon.
Due to the weather conditions, the Düsseldorf wildlife park will also be closed, the state capital announced.
The ADAC calls on drivers to drive with particular care.
"Significantly reducing speed, increasing the safety distance and driving with foresight is the be-all and end-all in heavy rain," said ADAC traffic expert Roman Suthold.
Showers and thunderstorms move east on Saturday night.
Saturday is expected to be partly cloudy.
Scattered showers are expected north of the Ruhr in the morning.
more on the subject
Severe weather risk: Heavy rain and severe gusts of wind are imminent
Expert: Still enough residual moisture - hope for rain
Weather warning in NRW: Expert considers tornadoes possible
The reason for the thunderstorm situation is a warm and increasingly very humid air mass, which is carried to NRW with a south-westerly current.
According to DWD information, the situation reached its peak on Friday with the passage of a thunderstorm.
As on the previous day, there could be severe gusts of wind, hail and heavy rain with up to 40 liters per square meter.
According to a meteorologist, the precipitation values during the flood disaster in 2021 were significantly higher.
At that time it was a "continuous rain condition that took up an extremely large area." dpa