DWD checks several tornado sightings: around 40, some seriously injured - numerous regions devastated

Created: 05/21/2022, 07:29

By: Jennifer Lanzinger

A woman shovels bricks from the covered roof of a house into a garbage can after the storm in Paderborn.

© Lino Mirgeler/dpa

Several tornadoes could have passed over NRW on Friday, the DWD is now reporting numerous indications of sightings.

Around 40 people were injured, some seriously.

Lippstadt/Paderborn - Weather experts have been warning of severe storms in Germany for days, now violent thunderstorms have passed over NRW.

The severe storms also resulted in numerous injuries, at least 10 people were seriously injured.

Meanwhile, the DWD receives several tornado reports, which must now be checked.

Severe weather over NRW: DWD checks several tornado reports

As the police reported early on Friday evening (May 20), 30 to 40 people were injured in the severe storms in the Paderborn area, at least 10 of them seriously.

"During a thunderstorm on Friday afternoon, a tornado cut a path of destruction from west to east through the middle of Paderborn in the direction of the eastern parts of the city," the police said in the early evening.

Officials reported millions in damage.

In an industrial area, the roofs of halls had been torn down.

Sheet metal, insulation and other materials were flown for kilometers.

And in Lippstadt, around 35 kilometers away, the fire brigade reported a suspected tornado that had caused serious damage.

A fire department spokesman said there were destroyed roofs and fallen trees throughout the city.

Windows shattered and cars were destroyed by falling branches.

The Altenbeken municipality near Paderborn reported that some of the trees had already snapped at the trunk - as if hit by a giant's hand.

Severe weather over Germany: Paderborn, Lippstadt, Lüdenscheid and Meschede with suspected tornado

The German weather service DWD had temporarily issued the highest storm warning level 4 for the region - "extreme thunderstorms" with hailstorms, heavy rain or extreme hurricane gusts.

A DWD spokesman said that several reports of tornadoes had been received - not only from Lippstadt, but also from Lüdenscheid and Meschede.

However, these reports still need to be verified.